Never Surrender
by wrong.perfection
Summary: Not only have demons been a problem but throw angels into the mix and Claire's world is about to get even more complicated. With Sam and Claire's friendship developing, she struggles with Dean and his return from hell. Part 3 of the Guardian Series
1. Keeping My Promise

**Hey everyone! I wanna thank those who reviewed my last story and are kind enough to stick with me and all. **

**Okay, I own nothing Supernatural that belongs to the CW, but I do own my own characters and ideas!**

_**

* * *

**_

**_Chapter 1 - Keeping My Promise_**

I knew, from the moment Sam disappeared that I had to go through with it. I promised him that I would do it and I did. It's been four months since I saw Bobby or Dean's grave. I had spoken to Sam a few times. He comes around every once and a while to make sure I'm okay.

I sighed and shook my head before glancing down at my watch. I had five minutes. I paid for my coffee before I grabbed my bag and stood up, walking away from the little cafe. I couldn't help but think about them as I made my way onto the campus.

I readjusted the bag as I walked into the classroom, hoping that class would take my mind off the painful memories. But it didn't, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep my mind on the professor lecturing on the impact the supernatural has had on history.

After class was dismissed I slowly made my way back outside and into the crowd of college students trying to get to their next destination. I couldn't help but wonder who was possessed or who was gonna die at the hands of something supernatural.

This wasn't my life anymore and here I was pretending nothing was wrong. Pretending that this was just as much my life as it was any other college student. I looked down at my watch and noticed I was late for work. Now if that wasn't foreign to me then I don't know what is.

"Yo, Melody you're late! Again," Marissa whistled from behind the counter. The diner wasn't busy, which was unusual especially with it being around lunch time.

"Yeah, sorry class ran over." I replied my excuses were getting worse.

"Uh huh. You are in so deep, Mel." I rolled my eyes.

I wrapped the waitress apron around my midsection before grabbing the tray of drinks and delivering them to the appropriate table. I knew it was wrong prancing around, with a fake identity, like there was nothing up, but there is a death certificate on Claire Williams on record and it would be really weird if she showed up asking to go to college.

"So who is he?" Marissa asked as I reached the counter. I set down the tray before giving her my infamous confused look.

"Who is who?" I asked.

"The original owner of that ring you are constantly wearing around your neck. Because from what I can tell it's too big to fit your skinny finger which is why you wear it on a chain."

"You are way too observant for your own good, Rissa. It's a long story," I sighed not wanting to get into it. Especially with Marissa.

"Mel, look around. This place is pretty much empty, come on, you can tell me anything."

I sighed before cautiously and leaving out most of the details and kept it general, Marissa got some of the story she wanted. We finished the shift in complete silence, letting all the talking be done by the costumers. I ignored Marissa as I left the diner and made my way back to the little apartment I had.

As I was pushing my way through the Chicago crowd I froze when I looked up. My eyes locked onto a person I never thought I would see again. I pushed my way through the crowd of people and I ended up losing sight of him. Once I reached the spot I knew I had seen him at he wasn't there.

I looked around quickly hoping to God that it wasn't just my imagination. I let out a quiet sob when I realized he wasn't actually there. I shook my head before finishing my journey to my apartment.

Once I reached my apartment I went straight to the liquor cabinet and grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels that was there. I twisted open the lid and drank straight from the bottle, which was a bad idea because as soon as I stopped drinking I fell into a coughing fit.

I set the bottle down before I dragged myself over to the couch and laid down. I flipped open my phone and dialed the one person who I knew would make me feel better.

"_I'm sorry the number you have reached is currently not in service."_

I snapped the phone shut. Something was wrong. Sam had that phone on for one reason and that was so we had a line between us. I quickly stood up, grabbing my cell phone on the way. Walking into my bedroom I let out a sigh. I promised Dean I would get away from hunting and here I am getting ready to jump right back in.

I walked over to nightstand and stared at the picture there, before packing up all my stuff, which basically consisted of clothes, my phone charger, and a single picture. Once everything was packed I threw the duffel over my shoulder and walked out of the apartment, locking it behind me. I looked around before making my way back to the black 69' Chevy Camero.

Who knows, I may be back one day.

* * *

It took me a couple of hours before I reached the spot. As I drove down the dirt road, shivers rolled down my spine. Something didn't feel right. I found the marker and immediately stopped the car and got out. My jaw dropped at the sight around me. There was Dean's grave but the trees around it were all gone.

They were lying on the ground, it was almost like a bomb had gone off and knocked them all down. So I cautiously walked forward toward his grave. Everything in a 20 foot radius of Dean's grave was untouched. Then I noticed the loose dirt, like someone had dug there. I quickly turned back and raced to my car and grabbed the shovel that was in the trunk.

I shoveled the dirt as quickly as I could before it hit wood. I threw the shovel up on the grass and kneeling down. I brushed away the dirt. I hissed in pain and quickly brought my hand back to me to see that it was bleeding. I carefully moved away the rest of the dirt and noticed that the top of the coffin had caved in.

I moved around in the little space before I got in a good position to pull off the pieces of the coffin top. Once they were off I looked into the coffin before I pulled myself out of the hole and sat on the edge. I threw my fist into the grass next to me as I once again caught sight of the _empty_ coffin.

* * *

It took another day before I finally saw the familiar house; someone needed to tell me what was going on. I brought the car to a stop, but I didn't get out. I'm not sure if I want to. I haven't seen Bobby in months which isn't unusual, but this time it was different. We were both grieving and on top of that I hadn't seen him since that day four months ago.

I knocked and stood there for a few minutes before the door swung open. I looked up at Bobby guilt written all over my face. I felt even worse now after seeing him. Neither of us said anything as Bobby pulled me into a big bear hug. I hugged him back and as I pulled away I noticed there was another person in the room. I froze when I saw who it was.

My first reaction was to pull him close and never let go but my hunter's instinct kicked in. I pushed past Bobby reaching into my pocket and pulled out my silver knife. As I swung at the intruder, he grabbed my arm before the knife made contact. He twisted my wrist until I dropped the knife but in retaliation I brought up my fist and slammed it into his jaw.

He stumbled back allowing me the upper hand. I quickly brought my leg up and kicked into in the stomach knocking him to the ground. I reached down and grabbed the knife, before walking toward him. Once I got close enough the intruder kicked out his legs, tripping me, and causing me to fall to the ground next to him. Luckily I didn't land on the knife, instead it landed a few feet away.

"Claire, stop! It's me! Dean!"

"The hell you are!" I hissed. I went to reach for the knife but he got it first. I felt someone's arms wrap around me and saw that it was Bobby restraining me. This was a nightmare. I struggled against Bobby hoping that this wasn't how I was gonna die.

"Listen to me, Claire, I made you promise that if I died you would quit hunting. And in return I promised you that if I went after Lilith I would come back alive!" Dean breathed out quickly causing me to freeze.

"How di-"

"And I know you went back to Chicago and went back to school like you promised." Dean whispered. My eyes widened in realization as I felt Bobby slowly let go of me.

"Dean?" I smiled as he nodded and wrapped my arms around him. I held back the tears that were threatening to fall. I pulled him as close to me as I could. I had missed him so much.

We both pulled slightly back when someone cleared their throat. I looked over and noticed that Bobby was now in the room. I smiled at him before looking back at Dean. I kept my arms firmly wrapped around him. I lost him once, I'll be damned if I lose him again.

"One down, one to go," Bobby said as he walked toward us. As I let go of Dean, I turned toward the kitchen and noticed all the empty liquor bottles sitting there.

"What's with all the liquor bottles?" I asked. I watched as a smirk crossed Dean's face and an annoyed one across Bobby's.

"Like you didn't drink when he was dead."

"Oh yeah, my place just didn't have as many empty bottles laying around." I replied picking up an empty whiskey bottle. It was quiet as Dean and I stared at each other, for me it was more that I was trying to make sure he was really there, that this wasn't a dream.

"So, uh, have you heard from Sam?" Dean asked after clearing his throat and looking away.

"No, after I got out of the hospital I tried looking for him." I paused wondering if I should tell him.

Dean cast me a suspicious look before nodding his head and looking toward Bobby.

"We were just on our way out, Dean found where Sam was."

"He did?" I asked, looking at Bobby in shock.

"Yeah Pontiac, Illinois."

"Bobby, I was just in Pontiac, that's why I was here. I came to ask about Dean's grave but that question's been answered. I was all over that town, and I didn't see Sam anywhere."

"According to the phone company, that's where he is, so you driving your own car or are you with us?"

"Mine. I'll meet you guys outside?" Both guys nodded as I made my way out.

I was walking back toward my car when the radios in the cars in the salvage yard started turning on. I walked towards one of the junked cars, but stopped when there was a high pitched noise radiating from all around me. I tried to ignore it but it kept getting higher and louder.

I clamped my hands over my ears hoping to block it out. I literally dropped to my knees as the noise rose higher. Suddenly any glass that was around started breaking as pieces flew around. It felt like my head was going to explode but then the noise just stopped. I slowly stood up and looked around trying to find the source of the noise.

But there was nothing but me in the salvage yard.

"Claire?" Dean's voice rang out. I caught sight of him as he rounded a stack of cars. I watched as his gaze landed on all the broken glass. "What happened?"

"That's a good question," I replied looking around. "So it really is you?" I asked still lingering on the fact that Dean was really here in front of me.

"Yeah, weird isn't it?" Dean asked walking toward me

"You have no idea," I replied reaching into my back pocket where I had a flask of holy water. I pulled it out and threw the water at Dean. When it hit him it didn't do anything, but an annoyed look crossed his face.

"I'm not a demon. I'm me, Claire." I nodded my head and threw my arms around his neck. I pulled him as close to me as I could. I had missed him so much.

"Claire, I don't want this for you," Dean whispered, standing dangerously close.

"I gave it up once because you weren't here. I'm staying right here with you," I whispered back.

Dean nodded before walking toward Bobby's car. I walked toward mine and climbed in. As I started the engine, Bobby pulled up next to me.

"You ready?"

"Yeah let's go," I replied.

* * *

I ignored the guilt that was racing through my body. I should have told him. I should have told him I knew exactly where Sam was and who he was with and what he was doing with said person. I got out of my car and leaned against the hood waiting for Dean and Bobby to arrive. I wondered if I should go up there and warn them. I pushed off the hood and started walking toward the door to the motel as Bobby and Dean pulled up.

I wasn't sure how Sam was gonna react when he saw Dean but if he had any sense in him he probably would do the same thing I did. I sighed following Dean and Bobby into the motel. It took a while for Dean to persuade the guy at the front desk to tell us what room Sam was in but once he got it we made our way up to the room.

Dean let out a deep sigh as he glanced at Bobby and me. He pounded his fist against the door and almost immediately the door swung open to reveal a woman in a tank top and underwear. I rolled my eyes and looked away from her.

"So where is it?" She asked looking between the guys. She caught my gaze before smirking slightly at me.

"Where's what?" Dean asked. The look was wiped from her face as she looked at Dean.

"The pizza that takes three guys to deliver?" She retorted.

"I think we got the wrong room."

Dean went to turn away from the door but Sam suddenly walked into the room. I looked between Sam and Dean both guys had two opposite looks on their faces. Sam was confused as to how and why Dean was standing at the door and Dean was just happy to see his little brother.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean said after a long period of silence. Sam was breathing hard like he was gonna hyperventilate any moment now. Dean stepped into the room toward his brother causing the woman to step out of the way. Bobby and I stayed at the door as Dean walked toward Sam. Out of the blue Sam pulled out a knife and attacked Dean causing the woman to scream.

"Who are you?" Sam yelled at Dean as Bobby restrained him. It killed me to stand back and watch this.

"Like you didn't do this!" Dean yelled right back.

"Do what?"

"It's him. It's him, Sam!" Bobby tried to reason while struggling to keep Sam restrained. "I've been through this already, so has Claire." I quickly positioned myself in front of Dean and stared right at Sam, his eyes locking onto mine.

"It's Dean, Sam. No tricks, it's actually him." I watched as Sam calmed down his gaze finding Dean again. I felt Dean move around me toward Sam once again.

"What...?"

"I know," Dean answered Sam. "I look fantastic, huh?"

Sam walked forward and pulled his brother into a long overdue hug. I could tell that by the look on Sam's face he was holding back tears. Once the two were done they pulled away from each other.

"So are you two, like, together?" The woman asked. I rolled my eyes at the dumb act.

"What? No. No. He's my brother."

"O-oh. Got it, I guess. Look, I should probably go."

"Yeah, yeah. That's probably a good idea. Sorry." Sam replied. She quickly grabbed her clothes and got dressed before heading toward the door with Sam.

"So call me."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure thing Kathy." The smile on her face immediately dropped.

"Chrissy," She corrected him.

"Right."

"Okay, well I'll make sure Chrissy gets to her car safe and sound," I said shooting a pointed look at Sam. Chrissy shyly started walking away from the door with me in tow. As soon as Sam closed the door the woman's gait changed.

"What in the hell were you doing, Ruby?" I hissed quickening my pace so I could keep up with the demon.

"I didn't expect a dead man to show up knocking," Ruby hissed back. "Aren't you supposed to be in Chicago?"

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Sam? Not screwing around with him?"

"Look, I am doing the best I can okay. It's not my fault your powers are nearly nonexistent now. And Sam is doing a hell of a lot better since the last time."

I watched as Ruby stomped away from me. I hated knowing what I did and not being able to tell Dean. I was never actually supposed to know in the first place, I just kinda walked in on it. I scoffed and shook my head as she disappeared. I made my way back toward the room.

As I walked in the room was silent. All eyes were on me as I entered the room causing me to stop after the door was closed. Sam quickly walked over to me and pulled me into a hug, another long overdue one. After the friendly embrace ended Sam handed everyone a beer.

"So, what were you doing here if you weren't digging me out of my grave," Dean asked. I nearly choked on my beer as he asked that. After getting a few stares Sam answered.

"Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you...I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback."

"All by yourself?" Bobby asked not truly buying Sam's story. Sam gave me a pointed look causing Dean to look between us confused. I looked away from Sam setting my eyes on the beer bottle hanging limply in my hands.

"Who do you think you are your old man?" Bobby continued lowering his voice. Dean stood up shaking his head.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Bobby. I should have called. I was pretty messed up."

"We all were," I replied not looking at Sam but my eyes glued to Dean. "Still are."

Dean leaned down next to the bed and picked up a discarded pink bra. "Oh yeah, I feel your pain."

"Anyways, I was tracking these demons out in Tennessee...and out of nowhere, they took a hard left, booked it up to Chicago before stopping here."

"So that's why you disconnected your phone."

"I thought they were going after you, but I made sure you were okay and followed them here," Sam explained. Dean was looking between the two of us, suspicion written all over his face.

"When?" he asked.

"Yesterday morning," Sam answered quickly.

"When I busted out," Dean commented looking at Bobby.

"You think these demons are here because of you?" Bobby asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know. But some badass demon drags me out, now this? It's gotta be connected somehow."

"How you feeling anyway?" Bobby asked.

"I'm a little hungry." Leave it to Dean to be thinking about his stomach at a time like this.

"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange or different?"

"Or demonic?" Dean asked sarcastically. "Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?"

"Yeah? Well listen, no demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts. They gotta have something nasty planned."

"Well, I feel fine," Dean's tone was getting defensive and I could tell he was getting angry. He took a drink of his beer when Sam spoke up.

"We don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel. We need help."

After Sam said that my head shot up and looked in Bobby's direction. I knew who we could go to that could help. By the look on Bobby's face he was thinking the same thing I was. _Pamela Barnes._

"Claire and I know a psychic a few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking."

"Hell yeah, it's worth a shot," Dean replied quickly.

"I'll be right back."

Bobby stood up and left Dean stood up and turned to leave but Sam stopped him. I watched from my position on the edge of the bed. Sam handed Dean back his necklace. I watched the brotherly moment with interest until Sam started asking about hell.

"Hey, Dean, what was it like?"

"What, hell?" There was a long pause as he looked over at me before turning his eyes back to Sam. "I don't know. I must have blacked out. I don't remember a damn thing."

I sat there and watched as Sam left the room to go check out while Dean went to the bathroom. He left the door open as he stood in front of the mirror staring at his reflection, wincing every now and then. I stood in the door way and watched and that was when I saw the pain and fear in his eyes.

"You know, you were pretty convincing back there," I said softly leaning against the door frame my arms crossed over my chest.

"What?" Dean tried playing dumb but there was too much pain hidden behind his eyes.

"Something happened down there, didn't it? Something happened and it hurt you so bad you're not sure if you're ever gonna recover from it. And I pray to God that someday, you'll let me in so I can help you."

I left when I didn't get a response. I nodded my head knowing that I tried and failed. I turned away from him and walked toward the door leading to the hallway. I felt hurt that he didn't feel like he could trust me enough to help him.

I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and pull me back. As I turned to face him his lips collided with mine. As quickly as it had started Dean pulled back and left the room leaving me standing there stunned, confused, and still a little hurt.

I quickly got outside just in time to see the guys gathering around their respective vehicles. I heard Bobby telling them she was a little ways down the interstate.

I quickly jogged over to my car and started it up. I was hoping I could get there a little before the guys so I could ask Pam some questions about the high frequency noise that nearly blew out my ear drums.

By the time I reached Pamela's I was tired and hungry. Usually when that happened my mood was just fantastic. I knocked on Pam's door and rolled my eyes impatiently. She opened the door and stood there in jeans and a black tank top, pretty much like the last time I saw her.

"Claire!" She exclaimed pulling me into a hug and squeezing me. I struggled for air before she let go moving aside for me to enter the house. I was about maybe five minutes ahead of the guys so it was just enough time to talk to her.

"Hey Pam, I've got a question for you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Okay this may be really stupid and it might be nothing at all but, when I was at Bobby's house...right after I had found out Dean was alive...I was walking out to my car and there was this high pitched noise. Like so high it blew out the windows of several cars around me."

"And you wanna know what it was?" Pam asked sitting down at the table prompting me to sit down as well. I nodded my head slightly. "I'll tell you what, after we see what's going on with Dean you're the next on my list, sugar."

"Thanks Pam," I replied just before someone knocked on the door. "That'll be them."

Pam stood up and answered the door. I could hear the happy welcoming going on but I just sat there at the table waiting for them to come into the room. I could hear Pam talking about the spirits not knowing anything and that they were gonna do a séance.

"Hey guys, took you long enough," I replied sarcastically as Pam shooed me away from the table so she could set up.

I watched as Pam knelt down and from that point on I knew Dean was watching Pam like a hawk.

"Who's Jesse?" Dean asked referring to the tattoo Pam had that said 'Jesse Forever' in curly writing along her lower back. Pam laughed at the question.

"Well it wasn't forever."

"His loss."

"Might be your gain," Pam teased grabbing the candles and walking to the table. I watched the two guys talk a little bit of jealousy coursing through me. Pam teased them some more saying Sam could join in as well.

After a few more minutes the six candles were lit and each one of us were sitting at the table. The black clothe on the table had a pentagram on it and had some other symbols as well. On either side of Pam were Bobby and Dean. I was next to Bobby while Sam was next to Dean.

"Take each other's hands," Pam commanded. I grabbed onto Bobby's hand and Sam's too. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." Pamela reached under the table causing Dean to jump.

"Whoa! Well, he didn't touch me there." I squeezed Sam's hand a little tighter causing him to glance at me.

"Ha-ha-ha. My mistake." I watched intently as Dean pulled off the plaid long sleeve shirt before rolling up the sleeve underneath. There on his arm was a hand print. A mark that was literally rising up from his skin. Pam set her hand on the mark exactly.

"I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle." Pamela repeated this a few times before I heard the TV click on. My eyes snapped open and I looked at the TV that's when I heard the high pitched noise.

"Castiel?" Pam asked. "No, sorry, Castiel I don't scare easy."

"Castiel?" Dean asked. The noise was getting louder. It was almost like I was the only one who could hear it.

"Its name. It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back."

"Pam, I think you should listen to it," My voice was strained. I scrunched up my nose as my head pounded the high pitched noise wasn't going away. I felt like my head was gonna explode. The table started shaking violently the high pitched noise steadily growing in volume.

"Can't you hear that?" I shrieked as Pam continued the chant. I ripped my hands away from Sam and Bobby putting them up to my ears.

"Pam, I think we should stop!" Bobby exclaimed watching my suffering throughout this séance.

"I almost got it. I command you show me your face!"

As the candles' flame grew tremendously I slipped off the chair letting out a shout of pain my hands still clamped to my ears. Faintly I could hear someone else screaming. All of a sudden the noise just stopped. I was thoroughly relieved that it had stopped but the noise was still ringing in my head.

I heard someone sobbing on the other side of the room but I stayed laying there on the floor. I felt someone kneel down next to me. I looked over and saw Dean was there. His hand snaked around my back and hoisted me up into a sitting position.

I felt something dripping down the side of my face by my ear. I pulled my hand away and saw the sticky substance I see way too much; my blood. Dripping from my ears no less. Dean used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe away the remaining blood.

"Where's Pam?" I asked quickly. When Dean didn't answer I jumped up and tried walking but that was not a good idea. I suddenly felt dizzy and went crashing down only I didn't hit the floor. Dean caught me and leaned me up against him.

That's when I heard the sirens. I looked around wildly trying to find Pam, but I didn't see her. Before I could ask Dean again, black dots clouded my vision before everything went completely black.

When I woke up I was once again in a white room with the stupid heart monitors beeping. I really needed to stop waking up in the hospital. I looked over and noticed Bobby was sitting in one of those chairs halfway between my side and the other patient's side. I watched as Bobby jumped up cell phone in hand when he noticed I was awake.

I raised my hand to wave and noticed the IV in my arm. I quickly ripped it out and got out of the hospital bed. I grabbed the clothes that were sitting on the side table and put them on.

"Yeah, she's okay," I heard Bobby reply to someone one the phone. "Awake and annoyed...Yeah I'll keep you posted."

"So what happened?" I asked walking out from behind the curtain fully clothed.

Bobby didn't say anything causing me to worry. His sad gaze flickered over to the other side of the curtain dividing the room in half. I slowly made my way over to the curtain and pulled it away. Laying in the bed was Pamela, as I watched her I saw that there were bandages covering her eyes. I walked over and stood next to the bed. I reached down and held her hand until I felt her squeeze my hand.

"Is that Claire I hear?" Pamela asked hoarsely.

"Hey Pam," I whispered softly. I turned to Bobby, "What happened?"

"I'm still here," Pam said squeezing my hand again. "I know you feel like it was your fault sweetheart but it wasn't."

"Was it that Castiel guy?"

"Claire, I think we need to get back to the motel room." Bobby cut in. He literally pulled me out of the room and checked me out of the hospital.

"Bobby, what in the hell is going on?" I blew up once we reached the parking lot.

"Pamela's eyes were burned out of her skull by some unknown force! You passed out complaining about some noise blood pouring from your ears! We don't know what's going on!" Bobby yelled back in a fatherly tone.

"So you guys didn't hear it." I replied more as a statement than a question.

"There was no noise, Claire."

"It must have been in my head, almost like the demon screams..." I trailed off.

"You think it's connected somehow?" Bobby asked a concern look crossing his face.

"I don't know. We should probably get back to Sam and Dean," I replied quickly noticing the sun was nearly down. Bobby nodded in agreement.

"Where's my car?" I asked as I followed Bobby towards his car.

"Safe and sound at the motel."

I nodded as the car fell silent. The whole ride to the motel was awkward and silent, which was unusual seeing as how I am usually comfortable hanging around Bobby. Maybe it wasn't me, maybe Bobby's just worried about my hearing noises no one else seems to hear.

As we pulled up to the motel I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I slowly climbed out of the car and reluctantly followed Bobby in. Once we reached our floor the feeling got worse. The peace was shattered when the high pitched noise ripped through my head.

"Bobby, its Dean!" I hissed running to the room. I burst through the door and saw Dean on the ground hands held up to his ears. Pieces of the mirror ceiling were raining down on him I was paralyzed as the piercing high pitched noise rose in volume.

Bobby pushed past me and landed next to Dean who was holding his hands to his ears. I could see the blood dripping down the side of his face. All of a sudden the noise stopped, I fell to my knees into the broken glass. I looked up and saw the glazed over look Dean was giving me.

I picked myself up off the ground, looking around wondering where Sam was. Bobby helped Dean out of the motel and I wandered behind them. Once we reached the parking lot I walked to my car.

"You not riding with us?" Dean asked causing me to turn and look at him.

"Uh, no, I'm gonna take my car. I have to stop in town so I'll meet up with you guys!"

I quickly got in my car not waiting for a response from him. If Dean was riding with Bobby that meant that Sam had the car and it wouldn't be hard to find the car. I drove around looking for his car and it wasn't long before I found it parked outside Joe's Diner.

I quickly got out of my car and walked up to the window of the place. I watched silently as Sam raised his hand and sent a demon back to hell without muttering a word of Latin. Like I used to be able to do. I turned away from the window and for the first time since I found out, I had a bad feeling about Sam.

* * *

**Okay let me know what you think because I love to hear your opinions, preferably not harsh or rude comments! Thanks!**


	2. Angels

_**Chapter 2 – Angels**_

I slowly got out of my car and towards the barn Dean and Bobby had just walked into. Once I got inside I saw that Bobby was drawing different symbols on the walls. I shook my head as I headed towards Dean who was standing at a table full of weapons.

I held onto the ring that was hanging around my neck. I glanced back at Bobby who was painting more symbols on the wall but was glancing over his shoulder at Dean. I sighed before stopping in front of the table. Dean was checking the guns when I reached the table but stopped when he saw me standing there.

"You okay?" He asked probably catching the look on my face.

"I don't know," I whispered. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped and looked over my shoulder. Bobby was still working on his little art project but I could tell he was trying to listen. Dean looked over at Bobby before looking back at me.

"Hey, we'll be right back," Dean called out to Bobby as he set down the weapon he was holding. Bobby just waved his hand and continued working. I followed Dean until we got outside before I stopped.

"You, uh, might want this back," I sighed pulling the chain from my neck. Instead of me grabbing the ring it fell to the ground. I let out a shaky breath before I knelt to the ground and picked it up. I brushed off the dirt before standing up.

Dean was standing in front of me as I got up. I held out the ring to him and looked away when he took it. I turned away from him and walked a little bit more. I glanced up towards the stars before planting my gaze on Dean's figure a few yards away from me.

"You kept your promise," Dean's voice rang out. I let out a weak laugh.

"Yeah, I was miserable. I knew I should have ignored it but it was all I had left of you. I couldn't give that up."

"What made you come back?" Dean asked walking towards me. I noticed the ring was back on his finger, where it was supposed to be.

"I saw your grave. What did that Dean? What burns out an innocent woman's eyes? What makes such a high pitched sound that makes you bleed from the ears?" I asked looking up at him.

Dean just shook his head before he pulled off his jacket. He then rolled up the sleeve and gasped when I saw it. On his bicep, there was an ugly red hand mark where the skin had risen like he had been branded and it looked like it hurt. I reached out and touched the inflamed skin and quickly retracted my hand in pain. It actually stung when I touched it almost like it had shocked me.

"I just-" I cut myself off thinking about the hellhounds. "Your chest was ripped to shreds. What could have the power to bring you back and in a healthy body?"

"I don't know. That's what we're here to find out. Whatever it is scares demons. This is one bad son of a bitch, and I don't want you anywhere near this thing," Dean said protectively.

I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled him close. I felt safe when he wrapped his arms around me. It was silent as we just held onto each other. I didn't want to let him go.

"I was alone, for four months. Trust me, Dean, I'll be okay and if not I have you and Bobby there to back me up."

"We should probably get back inside." Dean cleared his throat and let go of me. I nodded before we both headed back into the barn. When we walked in I noticed all the different charms on the walls...and the ceiling? How the hell could one man get all this in 10 minutes? I smirked as I reached the weapons table.

"It's a hell of an art project you got going there," Dean commented.

"Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. How are you doing?" Bobby replied setting down a can of white spray paint.

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, and the knife, not to mention Claire's ability to throw demons around. We're set to catch anything I've ever heard of," Dean answered Bobby pointing to all the appropriate weapons when he named them. My head snapped in Dean's direction when I heard my name.

"This is still a bad idea," Bobby muttered.

"I second you on that one," I replied not confident about what Dean wanted to do. I mean we don't even know what this thing is. And I hope to god Dean doesn't depend on my ability because at this point I'm not even sure if it still works.

"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times." Dean was getting aggravated, I could tell. "What do you say we ring the dinner bell?" he looked between Bobby and me.

I took a deep breath and looked up at Bobby, who was shaking his head. I watched as Bobby moved over to the other table and began the summoning ritual. I watched idly by, the shotgun loaded with salt rounds clutched tightly in my hands.

"Sure you don't wanna wait in the car?" Dean asked me. I glared at him causing him to back up hands up in defeat.

After Bobby was finished, nothing happened. I mean usually the demon would be there within seconds or minutes but here...there was nothing. I looked over at Dean who looked annoyed. This continued for at least 15 minutes. I found myself sitting on the table along with Dean, Bobby was situated on the other table.

I groaned in frustration as Bobby started whistling. Dean was lightly swinging his feet and digging Ruby's knife into the table as we all waited for this thing to show up. I was really starting to wonder if it was ever gonna show.

"Are you sure you did the ritual right?" Dean asked Bobby after a period of silence drifted over us. Bobby glared at Dean, daring him to say something else. "Sorry! Touchy, touchy."

Dean continued to mess with the knife before I grabbed it and slammed it on the table between us. Right then the wind started picking up and there was a loud thudding noise. I jumped at the sudden noise and looked up to see that the roofing on the building was viciously flapping against the building.

All three of us were up off the tables and onto our feet. I gripped the shotgun a little tighter; my nerves were getting the best of me.

"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind," Dean said over the loud racket. That's when I heard it. The piercing high frequency noise ripped through my head. It took all I had to keep standing straight, shotgun in hand. Dean glanced down at me concern written on his face.

I flinched as the light bulbs shattered causing glass and sparks to rain down. I looked up and watched as the barn doors flung open even after we had put boards up to keep it closed. Through the door walked in a man, probably in his 30s. He was wearing a suit and trench coat but his tie was loosened like he had just gotten off work or something.

Automatically I started letting off rounds straight into the guy, more out of pent up frustration from the constant ringing in my head. Bobby and Dean were doing the same, but I quickly had to reload my gun and let off a few more rounds. What amazed me was this guy was still walking towards us regardless of the fact we were shooting him with rock salt.

My gun ran out just as he reached us. To tell you the truth he didn't look all that scary, but looks can be deceiving. I caught a glimpse of Ruby's knife Dean had in his hand behind his back. I moved back and away from the man and Dean positioned himself so the guy's back was to Bobby.

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the man's gravely voice responded.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Dean replied sarcastically before he took the knife and buried it in the man's chest. I watched in shock as the knife had no effect on the man what so ever. He simply pulled the knife out and dropped it.

Bobby then tried attacking the guy with a tire iron. The man didn't even turn to stop the incoming blow. He simply grabbed the tire iron then turned and pressed his middle and index fingers to Bobby's forehead causing Bobby to drop to the ground unconscious. Then man just watched him fall.

I was standing on the other side of Bobby as he fell. I put up my hand before jerking it to the left. Usually the move that made demons fly but it only made this man stumble a bit causing his intense gaze to land on me. I was surprised when a look of recognition crossed his face. Before I had the chance to try again the man was in front of me his fingers pressed to my forehead. That was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

When my eyes fluttered open the first thing I saw was the ceiling. I quickly closed my eyes in pain as a sharp twinge ripped through my skull. I put my hand to my head as I sat up, I felt something fall off me in the process. I opened my eyes to find it had been a blanket and I had somehow ended up in Bobby's living room.

"Guys?" I called out putting my feet on the floor before standing up and stretching. "Dean? Bobby? Sam?"

"Claire?" I heard my name echo through the room. I looked toward the other doorway and saw Sam.

"Sam!" I whispered in relief before I was across the room with my arms around him. He picked me up before setting me back on the ground.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I smiled before punching him in the arm and hard as I could muster at the moment. Sam grabbed his arm and looked at me in confusion. I knew what it was for, what happened at Joe's Diner and the fact that Ruby is destroying the person I care about. A silence fell over us at the sound of someone approaching.

I took a step back from Sam just as Dean rounded the corner. A look of relief crossed his face as he saw me standing there with Sam.

"Okay, what's going on? How long was I out?" I asked looking between the two when I noticed the tension in the room.

"You've been out for two days. We were starting to get worried because Bobby woke up a few hours after getting knocked out."

"Oh," I said absently nodding my head my gaze was locked on Dean who was looking through the piles of books for something.

"The other thing is according to the thing you guys faced a while ago...Dean was brought back by angels."

I whipped around to face Sam who was trying to recover from my sudden movement. My eyes narrowed at him as I tried to wrap my mind around this bit of information. Somewhere in my brain there were flags going off telling me to steer clear of this if it really was angels.

"Angels?" I clarified. Sam nodded.

"It wasn't freaking angels!" Dean shouted walking past us and into the kitchen.

"Angels are real?" I asked Sam before following Dean into the kitchen. I watched as he slammed the books onto the table before going to lean against the counter. Sam sat down at the table and opened one of the books.

"Okay, if you think it wasn't angels, what do you think it was?" I asked calmly. I glanced into the library and saw Bobby with his head in a book.

"All I know is, I was not groped by an angel," Dean replied glancing at me before looking at Sam.

"Okay, look Dean. Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?" Sam asked.

"So the Castiel that burned Pam's eyes out was an angel?" I asked confused.

"Maybe it's some kind of demon. Demon's lie," Dean retorted harshly ignoring my question.

"A demon that's immune to salt rounds? And devil's traps? And Claire's abilities? Not to mention Ruby's knife! Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing," Sam argued.

I scoffed before walking out of the kitchen and toward Bobby. He looked up acknowledging that I was there. I sat down to the side of the desk he was currently working at.

"Welcome back," Bobby muttered as he continued reading.

"Hm, makes me wish I was still unconscious," I replied regarding the arguing going on in the kitchen. Their voices were growing in volume before Bobby interrupted them.

"You two chuckleheads wanna keep arguing religion or you wanna come take a look at this?"

Bobby set a book down in front of me and pointed to a specific section. I looked at it and started to read as Bobby explained to the guys what he had found.

"I got stacks of lore. Biblical, pre-biblical...some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."

"_He who is deemed fit to serve, shall rise again at the will of his Lord, by hand of his Lord's warriors._" I quoted from the book I was reading. "Which means the angels brought you back to life."

"What else?" Dean asked looking at me.

"What else what?" Bobby asked for me.

"What else could do it," Dean clarified.

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box? As far as I can tell, nothing."

I watched Dean's expression. It was stone cold denial. He didn't want to believe it and not that I blame him because this is all so weird. If there really are angels and God, then where have they been all this time?

"Dean, this is good news," Sam spoke up a smile gracing his face.

"How?" he retorted.

"Because for once this isn't just another round of demon crap. Maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?" Sam tried reasoning with Dean but I could see that Dean wasn't buying it.

"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God."

"Pretty much," I answered looking to Bobby for backup.

"Vegas money's on 'yeah'."

Dean shook his head. "I don't know guys."

"Whatever, look. I know you're not all choir boy about this stuff. But this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof."

"Proof?" Dean asked sarcastically. "Proof that there's a God out there that gives a crap about me personally? I'm sorry but I'm not buying!"

"Why not?" Sam asked. Dean looked between the three of us. I wanted to say something but there really wasn't anything to say.

"Because why me?" I rolled my eyes at this question. Typical Winchester question. "If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?"

"Dean-" Sam started.

"I've saved some people," Dean cut Sam off. "Okay, I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy!" Dean argued.

"Apparently, you're a regular guy who's important to the man upstairs."

"Well that creeps me out," Dean responded to Sam.

"Maybe," I spoke up causing all eyes to turn to me, "he saw the chance to save you and took it. Maybe he thought you still had something to do for this world."

"But even then, I don't like being singled out at birthday parties, much less by God."

"Okay, well, too bad, Dean because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat."

I sent a glare at Sam who shrugged his shoulders in response. I shook my head before turning my attention back to Dean. He cleared his throat before looking at each of us, his gaze then finally landing on me.

"Fine," he finally said still looking at me. "What do we know about angels?"

It was quiet as everyone's eyes went to Bobby. He sat there for a minute before reaching down and grabbing a pile of books and dropping them on the table. I'm sure Sam, Dean and I all had different reactions to this.

"Start readin'."

"You're gonna get me some pie," Dean pointed at Sam before angrily grabbing a book and walking into the kitchen. I chuckled at Dean's behavior before grabbing a book myself and flipping to a random page.

"You want anything?" Sam asked.

"Nah, I'm good." I replied a smile on my face. Sam nodded before turning and leaving.

After about an hour and a half I had worked my way through one book and was onto another when Bobby came walking into the room on a mission. I closed the book and looked up at him. Dean walked into the library just as Bobby spoke up.

"Better pack your things. I've been trying to get a hold of one of my friends, Olivia Lowry and she's not picking up. It doesn't feel right, I wanna go check up on her make sure she's alright."

"Okay, as soon as Sam gets back we can head out," I answered standing up.

I quickly went upstairs and grabbed my stuff before coming back down stairs. I walked outside and to my car. I heard footsteps behind me but I continued to my car.

"Nice, where'd you score this?" Dean's voice rang out. I grinned before turning around.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I laughed when I caught the look on his face. "Don't worry Dean. I won it in a poker game, totally fair."

"But you suck at poker," Dean questioned taking a good look at my car.

"Apparently I was better than this guy."

Dean shook his head before coming to stand next to me. I opened the trunk and threw my bag in the back. I then closed the trunk and leaned against my car, my gaze landing on Dean. He stood there hands in his pocket.

"You gonna ride on your own?"

"Yeah, it's just one state over."

Dean nodded and sighed before turning away from me. I could tell something was wrong just by the way he was standing. I walked over and grabbed his hand causing him to face me again.

"Talk to me, Dean."

He was about to say something when Bobby walked out of the house. Dean quickly went over to Bobby and started helping him. I scoffed and shook my head annoyed. Just then Sam pulled up in the Impala. I made my way towards the impala just as Bobby stepped away from the car.

"Sam, I have to talk to you," I said quietly through the driver's side window before slowly walking away from the car. I listened as the impala's door opened then slammed shut and footsteps coming up behind me.

"What's up?" Sam asked stopping next to me.

"This has to stop, Sam."

"What has to stop?"

"You know what," I hissed trying to keep my voice low. "It is getting way out of hand."

"Claire, I'm saving people!" Sam argued. I glanced over at Dean and Bobby who were talking quietly.

"But at what cost? Are you really willing to lose Dean over this?"

"Why are you so against it now? A few months ago you were all for it."

"That was before you started drinking demon blood," I hissed turning away from him. I knew he had a shocked look on his face. He didn't know I knew about the demon blood, he just thought I knew he could exorcise demons with his mind.

This has gone on long enough and I knew that I had to stop Sam from making the situation a whole lot worse.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or hell those who even just read this! I thank my beta for all her help bcause without her I don't know what I would have done. But reviews make my day and encourage me to write! So leave those reviews!**


	3. Walking Nightmares

_**Chapter 3 – Walking Nightmares**_

I held tightly onto the sawed off shotgun in my hands as we entered Olivia's house. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Bobby had knocked first but when getting no answer we went in.

"Olivia?" Bobby called out. Dean was right behind Bobby, Sam behind Dean and I was behind Sam. I closed the door quickly behind me before following the guys.

Bobby then came to a halt before he turned around and walked back outside. I was confused until I saw what was lying on the floor between the kitchen and living room. It was Olivia, and her chest had been ripped open, her rip cage separated and sticking out of her body.

I closed my eyes at the gruesome sight. What could have done this to her? She was an off duty hunter and she had to die like this? It was positively cruel.

"Salt line," Sam commented as he walked closer to Olivia. I knelt down next to Olivia's body and took a look at what happened to the inside of her body.

"Heart's been crushed. So have her lungs. What ever it was, made damn sure she was dead," I reported standing up and backing away from the body.

"Olivia was rocking the EMF meter," Dean said standing near her secret compartment of weapons. He held up the EMF to show Sam and me.

"Spirit activity," Sam commented.

"Yeah, on steroids," Dean retorted tossing the EMF down. "I've never seen a ghost do this to a person."

"It had to be one very pissed off ghost," I commented before Bobby came back into the room. I hated seeing Bobby like this.

"Bobby, you alright?" Dean asked concerned.

"I called some hunters nearby," Bobby answered.

"We could use the help-"

"Except they ain't answering their phones either," Bobby cut Dean off. Oh that's not good.

"Something's up, huh?" Sam replied, stating the obvious.

"You think?" Bobby replied dryly. Bobby glanced down at Olivia before turning and leaving the room.

"We'll split up. Go check on the other hunter's nearby." Dean commanded before leaving the room.

"Okay, let's get this over with," I said to Sam having a very bad feeling about this.

Once I got outside, Bobby handed me a phone number and address to check out. Markus Bodrough. I climbed into my car and pulled out my cell phone and dialed his number. I sighed when I got his answering machine.

"Hey Markus, it's Claire Williams. I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's. We think there's something big going on and whatever it is going after hunters. So if you could give me or Bobby a call that'd be great. Thanks, bye."

I quickly pulled out of Olivia's driveway and drove as fast as I could to get to Markus' place. By the time I got there the sun was going down, casting an eerie glow on the place. I grabbed my shotgun and ammo before making my way up to the front door.

I knocked before entering the house, my shotgun poised in front of me. I walked cautiously through the hallway until I reached the living room. I reeled at the sight before me. Markus was laying on the floor, a gaping hole in his chest, just like Olivia only there was more blood here than at Olivia's.

I knelt down next to his body and noticed his internal organs were also crushed. I shook my head and stood up noticing the salt line. His EMF was sticking out from underneath the couch. I walked over to his answering machine and erased the message I left before I made my out of the house.

"Hey Bobby, it's the same as Olivia. Brutal." I said.

"_Damn it! Go ahead and head back to my place and I'll meet you there."_

"Okay, see ya." I flipped the phone shut and opened my car door.

"Long time no see, Claire." I froze. I couldn't move at the sound of his voice. I finally got enough courage before turned around and came face to face with a walking nightmare.

"Jeremy?" I asked taking in the 5'11 frame, with soft brown hair and cold brown eyes. Eyes that used to be warm and comforting. It took all I had to not break down from this blast from the past.

"How could you Claire? I loved you!" Jeremy shouted. I pulled the trigger on the shotgun without realizing it. The rock salt hit Jeremy causing him to disappear.

I quickly got in my car and slammed it into drive before taking off to Bobby's. I could feel myself hyperventilating but I knew I couldn't stop the car until I reached Bobby's.

It was reaching five in the morning by the time I reached Bobby's. I got out of the car and raced into the house. I had to tell him what had just happened. When I turned the corner to enter the library something hard came in contact with my face knocking me to the ground.

I was in a daze when I felt someone grab my arms and drag me up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms before hearing the door slam. I felt something wrapping around my hands before hauling me up. By the time my head was clear I was hanging from the ceiling, my arms over my head and my feet dangling untied.

I looked in front of me and saw Hendrickson standing there a smirk no his face.

"Hendrickson...you're-"

"Dead, thanks to you."

"If I had known-" I was cut off again.

"But you did!" He shouted. "You knew that your sister and that demon were out there, but you let them raise the alarm with Lilith!"

I felt a sharp stinging pain rip through my stomach. I looked down and noticed the red blossoming on my shirt. Why do they always go for the stomach! I looked back up at Hendrickson just in time to see his fist coming at me before connecting with my jaw.

I quickly recovered, but instead of finding Hendrickson standing there it was Jeremy. I could feel the shame and guilt pumping through my veins at the sight of him.

"Jeremy-"

"I died for you! How could you not be there for me? You have that stupid gift and you couldn't have been there when I needed you?" Jeremy yelled before punching me in the stomach where the fresh cut was. I bit my cheek so I didn't scream and my hands were clutched around the rope holding me up.

"You could have saved me! You could have saved Aly and Morgan! But no you just stood by and watched as we burned! It's about time you get a taste of what we went through."

That was the last thing he said before the sound of a shotgun going off reached my ears. I looked up to see Dean standing at the door, breathing hard. I let my head drop in relief at the sight of him. He quickly walked up to me and cut me down.

Being me, I lost my balance and ended up falling into Dean. I looked up at him to see the concern on his face. I wrapped my arm around his neck as his wrapped around my waist and he helped me as made our way back down stairs. Once we got downstairs I saw Sam and Bobby were in the library.

"I just got attacked by my dead ex, not to mention Hendrickson as well. Anyone wanna explain to me what in the fricking hell is going on around here?" I asked not in the nicest of tones.

"Dead ex?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, Jeremy," I replied looking at Sam. I knew he would understand how much it hurts. Then Dean explained how he had a run in with the girl Meg, who apparently was being possessed by some demon a few years ago.

"Wait, so they're all people we know?" Sam asked.

"Not just know. People we couldn't save," Dean explained.

"Which explains why Jeremy strung me up and beat me like a piñata," I replied sarcastically.

"I saw something on Meg," Dean spoke up. "Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"

"I don't think so," Sam said unsure.

"Like a mark on her hand. Almost like a brand."

"I saw something on Jeremy's hand," I spoke up. "And I definitely know he didn't have any."

"And I saw a mark on Hendrickson."

"What'd it look like?" Bobby asked joining into the conversation. Sam asked for some paper before he started drawing. He showed Dean and me his sketch and both of us confirmed that was the mark we had seen. He then handed it to Bobby.

"I may have seen this before," he said before walking over to a stack of books and picking a few out. There was a loud thud that came from the other room.

"We gotta move. Follow me," Bobby demanded handing some books to Sam.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked as Dean and I got up off the couch.

"Somewhere safe, you idgit!" Bobby retorted before leading us to the basement.

It was nerve wracking going down into the dark basement when there were several very pissed off ghosts trying to kill us. Bobby went first then it was Dean, then me, then Sam. I felt slightly better with the guys on either side of me but there was a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

As we followed Bobby, I'm pretty sure Sam, Dean, and I were confused as to why we were even down there. We finally stopped in front of a metal door and Bobby pulled it open and by the looks of the door it was pretty thick. Bobby stood in front of the door holding it open for us.

Dean gave Sam and me a confused look causing Sam to shrug his shoulders. Dean was the first to go into the mysterious room but I followed quickly after as did Sam. Bobby closed the door behind us before locking it. I looked around at the room and noticed that if you ever needed a place to go; this shelter had guns, a bed, a desk, some food and water.

On the floor there was a pentagram that was inside a bigger pentagram that covered the floor. Devil's traps. I looked up and saw there was a fan bringing in air. There also some more symbols on the floor I didn't recognize. I looked over at Dean to see him messing with some of the weapons.

"Bobby, is this-"

"Solid iron," Bobby answered Sam's question. "Completely coated in salt. One hundred percent ghost-proof."

"You built a panic room?" Sam asked grinning.

"I had a weekend off," Bobby shrugged.

"Bobby," Dean spoke up holding an aggressive looking gun in his hand.

"What?"

"You're awesome!" We all let out a laugh or in Bobby's case he just grinned. Dean then caught sight of the poster with the woman in her bathing suit, looking like she had just got out of the water. "Oh."

I rolled my eyes at Dean's comment before sitting down at one of the two desks in the room. The room fell silent after that. Bobby came over to the desk I was sitting at and set down the books pushing some toward me to look through. Sam and Dean went over to the other desk and started making more rock salt rounds.

I had been flipping through one of the books when I came across a bookmarked page. It was about the Fallen Watchers or Grigori, 'those who watch', and how they were angels who had fallen from heaven. Grigori...why did that sound familiar? I looked at the picture that acted as a book mark for the page. It was two little babies, dressed in identical pink outfits.

I read a little more of the passage which detailed how the Grigori were created by God to guide his new creation, mankind. Also to protect 'the gate'...the passage didn't go into detail what gate but it was important enough for the angels to make sure it stayed safe.

The book in front of me slammed close causing me to jump. I looked at the hand that closed the book and saw Bobby yanking the book in his direction.

"What the hell Bobby?" I hissed grabbing another book off the stack.

"That book doesn't have anything in it," he replied quickly.

"It talked about the angels, how can it not have anything in it. Maybe it's important!"

"Not for what we are dealing with." I opened my mouth to retort but the look Bobby was giving me told me to shut up.

I shook my head and started looking through another book. I felt someone's gaze on my back and turned to see Dean was watching me closely. When he realized I was watching him he quickly turned around and went back to work on the salt rounds.

"See, this is why I can't get behind God," Dean said right out of the blue.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people that's how it is. And no rhyme or reason, just random, horrible, evil. I get it, okay? I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him?" Dean asked glancing over at Bobby and me, both of us had stopped working.

"Where the hell is he while these decent people are getting torn to shreds?" Dean continued. "How does he live with himself, you know? Why doesn't he help?"

Sam looked over at Bobby and me for some help knowing he didn't have the answer for it. Then Dean turned around and looked at us as well.

"This one's all yours Bobby," I replied softly, looking between the guys.

"I ain't touching this one with a 10-foot pole." Bobby commented when the guys switched their gaze to him. "I found it," he said right after pointing to something in the book.

"What?" Sam was the first to reply.

"The symbols you saw. The brand on the ghosts, Mark of the Witness."

"Witness?" I asked confused looking over at the book.

"Witness to what?" Sam finished for me.

"The unnatural. None of them died what you would call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They're like rabid dogs. And it ain't their fault. Someone raised them on purpose."

"Who?" Sam demanded.

"Do I look like I know?" Bobby asked rhetorically. "But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark. A brand on their souls."

"Why would someone force them to rise?" I asked looking to Bobby.

"Because they had big plans. It's called the Rising of the Witnesses. It figures into an ancient prophecy."

Prophecy...Witnesses...Angels...God...Why did all of this sound familiar?

"Wait, wait. What book is that prophecy from?" Dean asked getting out of his chair and walking over to me and Bobby.

"Well, the widely distributed version's just for tourists, you know. But long story short: Revelations."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I sighed and looked up the boys looked confused but were trying to pass it off like they knew what Bobby was talking about.

"This is a sign, boys."

"A sign of what?" They asked at the same time.

"The apocalypse," I answered all eyes turning to me. I watched the guys' reaction as realization of just how bad this was crossed their features.

"Apocalypse?"

"Yea," I replied.

"As in "apocalypse" apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence...$5-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"

"That's the one," Bobby replied to Dean's ranting.

"The Rise of the Witness is a...mile marker." Bobby struggled to find the words.

"Okay. So, what do we do now?" Sam asked always ready to try and fix the problem.

"Pfft. Road Trip," Dean answered turning away from the group. "Yeah. Grand Canyon, _Star Trek_ Experience, BunnyRanch."

I rolled my eyes as he sat down. Sam looked at me an apologetic look on his face before he turned back to Bobby.

"First thing's first. How about we survive our friends out there?" Bobby retorted.

"Great. Any ideas aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?" Dean asked.

"It's a spell," Bobby replied hitting the book with his pencil. "It sends the witnesses back to rest. Should work."

"'Should'? Ha. Great." Sam replied.

"If I translated it correctly, I think I've got everything we need here at the house."

"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" Dean asked trying to lighten the mood.

"You thought our luck was gonna start now all of a sudden? Spell's gotta be cast over an open fire."

"Fireplace in the library," Sam answered.

"Bingo."

"It's just not as appealing as a ghost-proof panic room, you know?" Dean commented.

I looked up at Dean who was sitting in the chair not looking too happy about the situation. I walked over to him while Bobby and Sam moved around the room. I stood in front of him causing him to look up at me. Neither of us said anything as he slowly stood up towering over me. He leaned down and placed a small kiss on the top of my head before standing up straight again.

"Stay close to me," he whispered before turning to help Sam and Bobby.

"Cover each other, and aim careful," Bobby warned as we all held onto our shotguns. "Don't run out of ammo until I'm done, or they'll shred you."

"Well that's comforting," I commented dryly as Bobby unlocked the door.

We were all on edge as the door swung open, and after cautiously checking out the area, Sam was the first to step out, then Dean, then me, then Bobby. I had my gun up ready to shoot if I had to. We stayed closed together before finally reaching the stairs.

I quickly stopped as Dean pointed his gun up at something on the stairs. Sitting there was a man, with shaggy hair and a beard forming. He smirked down at Dean who I knew recognized the guy.

"Hey, Dean. You remember me?" The guy asked.

"Ronald? Huh with the laser eyes?" Dean asked. The smile slowly started to fade from Ronald's face. "I wish I could say it's good to see you."

"I am dead, because of you!" Ronald replied angrily. He stood up and took a step toward us. "You were supposed to help me!" Suddenly Ronald disappeared as Bobby shot him.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

We made it up the stairs and into the library with no problem. Dean and Bobby went straight to the fire place while Sam and I started making a salt line. Sam and I had just finished with the salt line when Bobby started barking out orders.

"Upstairs linen closet, red hex box. It'll be heavy. Claire go with him, cover him."

"Got it," Sam replied and I nodded going with Sam.

We stepped over the salt line and quickly made our way up the stairs. I had my gun up and ready as we entered the hallway. I was constantly looking behind me and in doorways just waiting for him to jump out.

It didn't take long to find the linen closet. Sam riffled through the closet looking for the box while I kept my guard up looking for anything.

"You know what really pisses me off, Sam?" A woman's voice called out. I quickly turned and shot at the woman standing there but she disappeared.

"Over here, Claire," Jeremy's voice rang out. I looked farther down the hall and saw him standing there. I turned and saw Sam dealing with the other woman. I turned back to Jeremy only to find him right in front of me.

He grabbed my shirt and threw me. I slid along the floor until I hit the wall by the window. I quickly reached for the gun and shot at Jeremy who disappeared. I stood up just as Sam was coming down the hall.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I replied as we dashed back down the stairs. I was horrified at what I saw when we entered the kitchen. Hendrickson had his hand in Dean's chest; Dean was in pain I could tell. Sam shot Hendrickson causing Dean gasp and fall to the ground, groaning in pain clutching his chest.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he knelt down next to him.

"No," Dean groaned before Sam pulled him to his feet. I quickly walked ahead of the guys and pushed open the door separating us from Bobby. As soon as each of us were over the salt line I reloaded my weapon before coming face to face with Jeremy.

"Why did you let me die, Claire?" he asked a hurt look on his face. He was standing right on the edge of the salt just staring at me. I raised my shotgun but I couldn't pull the trigger.

"I didn't know," I whispered.

"The hell you didn't!" I jumped as a shot rang out and Jeremy disappeared. I looked over and gave Sam a grateful look.

Bobby finally started the ritual but as soon as he did things took a turn for the worse. The windows slid open and the wind came rushing into the room scattering the salt line. I raised my gun once the wind stopped and this time I was ready. The first to show up in front of me was Hendrickson, so I let off a single shot and he disappeared.

Sam had let off a round straight into Meg. It was quiet for a moment as Bobby continued to chant. Dean yelled to Sam who ducked as Dean shot Meg again. Jeremy turned up and started walking toward Dean, who shot at Jeremy causing him to disappear. In a very short time this was getting old.

There was just a constant stream of gunfire and at this point we were bound to run out. Just then a large desk went sliding toward Sam pinning him to the wall.

"Sam!" I started to him before my gun was ripped from my hands. I turned to see Jeremy standing in front of me and before I could do anything he grabbed the front of my shirt and threw me into the kitchen.

"Claire!" I heard Dean's shout but it was cut off by the kitchen doors slamming shut. I slammed my fist against the door.

"Dean! Sam! Bobby!" I yelled out but I knew it was useless. I turned around and looked about the kitchen trying to find some kind of weapon. Before I could make a move Jeremy was in front of me, his hand in my chest. A burning pain ripped through my body as I felt his hand wrap around my heart. I let out a strangled cry as his hand slowly crushed my heart, but before he could do anymore damage a blue light burst through the room causing Jeremy to disappear.

I fell to the floor clutching at my chest as the blue light disappeared. I was panting trying to catch my breath when the kitchen doors slide open. I looked up to see Sam standing there a worried look on his face. Sam knelt down next to me before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me up off the floor.

He guided me into the library where Bobby was also gasping for air Dean by his side. I automatically conclude that Bobby had just received the same near death experience I had. I looked up at Sam before looking at Dean and Bobby again.

"Are they gone?" I asked still out of breath. Bobby just nodded his head in response. Thank God it was finally over.

* * *

For the first time since I had lost Jeremy, I felt guilty about his death. I knew that whoever raised the witnesses wanted us dead but he or she still succeed in killing a part of me. A part that I truly thought I had moved on from.

I stood in the darkness of the guest bedroom and just stared blankly out the window. Seeing Jeremy again, seeing him angry asking me why I didn't save him, made me ask the same question. Why couldn't I? I had the power to, if only I hadn't stayed with Aly at the bar.

I jumped as I heard someone knocking on the bedroom door. I wiped away the tears that had managed to escape before turning around. Standing there was Sam, and judging by the look on his face he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

I stood there fresh tears making their way down my face as Sam walked over and wrapped his arms around me. My arms snaked around his waist and we just stood there, by the window. I felt him place a friendly kiss on the top on my head before I pulled back. I wiped away the tears before turning away from him.

"Do you ever feel guilty about Jess?" I asked quietly. I wondered if he even heard me.

"Every day," Sam replied. I nodded my head as he said that.

"Does it ever go away?" I turned to look at him. I looked back out the window after I saw him shake his head no.

"But it does get easier to deal with it," I heard Sam say. I didn't move; I knew I should have said something but I couldn't find the words. "If you ever need someone to talk to, Claire, I'm always here for you."

I listened as the door slowly closed. As soon as I heard the door click the waterworks started back up. I moved over to the bed and sat down on it. I backed myself against the wall and clutched the pillow to my chest and cried into it. Why does the guilt have to hurt so much?

* * *

**Hey guys sorry for the wait but you probably know what it's like at the end of the summer! Pure crazyness! Anyway I'm hoping this chapter was enough of a reason to keep on reading and reviewing!**


	4. We Know Everything

_**Chapter 4 – We Know Everything**_

I sighed as I watched the dark scenery pass by; I was really missing my car. In the three and a half months I've had it, I created a bond with it. As crazy as that sounds I finally understand Dean's obsession with his car, or a least some of his obsession.

I looked up toward the front seat and looked back and forth between Sam and Dean. I could tell that both were tired and what happened just the other day was probably still weighing on their minds. I sure as hell know it is still on my mind, I couldn't get Jeremy's face out of my head.

I snapped out of my thoughts as the car jerked to a halt before shutting off. I looked up and noticed we were at another motel. I slowly got out and leaned against the car as Dean went to the office to check in. I glanced to my left as Sam leaned against the car as well.

"I'm going to see Ruby. I need to practice," Sam said in a low voice.

"I don't care what you do, Sam. But what I do care about is that you just got your brother back and you choose to go hang out with a demon?" My voice was dangerously low.

"Claire, it's the same old Dean. I'm not missing out on anything."

I didn't respond as Dean came out of the office holding a key in his hand. I shook my head before rounding to the back of the car and waited for Dean to get there to open the trunk. I didn't look at Sam.

As soon as we got into the room Dean immediately claimed the bed closest to the door. I threw my bags down on the small couch. I should really start getting my own room. I laid back on the couch and closed my eyes ignoring my discomfort.

"Claire, you can have the bed," Sam spoke up. I kept my eyes shut and just ignored him. I heard him sigh before hearing the bedsprings groan as he sat on the bed. The room was silent until I finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I jolted awake at the sound of the door clicking shut. I looked around the room, through the darkness I could tell that Dean was asleep on the bed, but I didn't see Sam. I let out a frustrated breath before throwing off the blanket that had been laid over my body. I walked toward the door and opened it quietly, taking another silent glance at Dean before walking out closing the door behind me.

I looked around the parking lot and noticed that Dean's car was still here which means that Ruby came and picked him up.

"Damn it," I breathed out before walking toward the main road. I looked both directions debating which way to go. As I turned my head to the left I jumped when I noticed I wasn't the only one standing there.

"Castiel?" I asked out of breath. "The angel?" He didn't answer he just stared out at the quiet street in front of us. "Okay, silent type, I get it."

"It's been centuries since I last saw your kind walking the earth," Castiel spoke in his gravely voice. I wonder if he speaks like that on purpose, you know to instill a sense of fear and power.

"My kind?" I asked confused.

"We know you hear the demons. We know what you can do. Step out of line and we will deal with you."

"Is that a threat?" I asked my anger getting the best of me. Castiel finally settled his piercing gaze on me.

"Stop Sam Winchester."

"Sam? Wha-" I cut myself of when I realized Castiel was no longer there. I really did not like him.

I shook my head before looking down the street, I had no idea where Sam was and either way I go I might not find him. I just wish there was something that would lead me to Sam before he did something stupid.

_Come on. _I whipped around quickly but there was no one around. I could have sworn I heard someone. _Hurry up, Sam. _Why did the voice sound familiar?

"Hello?" I called out to the empty air around me. I looked a little ways down the road and a flickering road light caught my attention. I quickly made my way down the long stretch of road before coming to a stop at the flickering light. Once I reached the light it stopped flickering, I let out a frustrated sigh before I noticed another flickering light a little farther down the way.

After a while I was feeling pretty stupid following flickering street lights. Eventually I reached one final street lamp before hitting a dirt road; I looked around but there were no more lamps. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my gun, taking off the safety.

If I was anything other than a demon or an angel, I'm covered. _Do it already! _I stopped and looked around before continuing my walk. _This is a waste of time. _I kept walking noticing that the voice was getting louder. I lowered my gun when I saw the yellow mustang with black racing stripes. Ruby...Wait Ruby, the voice sounded just like her.

I quickened my pace as I entered the warehouse. I heard voices to my left so I turned and headed in that general direction. I turned to enter a room and about had a heart attack because standing there was Castiel.

"Jesus! You really need to stop that!" I hissed keeping my voice down. "Look I don't have any clue what the hell you want but just leave me alone."

"Your powers are more developed than we first believed. The last of the Grigori descendents will meet their end in blood if you are not careful."

"Again with the threats! I thought angels were supposed to protect people not threaten to kill them..." I trailed off thinking about what he had just said. "Grigori? They exist?"

Castiel's gaze once again found me, causing me to turn away. Grigori, protectors of the gate, shepherds to mankind, created by the angels. He said that he hadn't seen someone of my kind in centuries...could that mean that I'm a...

"Am I a-" I cut myself off again when I saw that Castiel had once again disappeared. I shook my head trying to shake off the ridiculous conclusion, it wasn't possible. I once again followed the voice and this time I went uninterrupted.

I came upon a familiar sight. There was a man tied to a chair which I'm guessing was a demon, while Sam was standing in front of him with Ruby off to the side.

"Tell me about those months without your brother," the demon demanded. I froze hearing that. "About all the things you and this demon bitch do in the dark."

I walked into the moon light shinning in through the window.

"And look who decided to join us. How many secrets do you have hidden away, Claire," The demons taunting landed on me.

"You'll never know," I scoffed at the demon before turning my glare toward Sam and Ruby.

"Let me guess, you sat by and watched him slut around didn't you. Tell me Claire, what did you do for the four months?" My gaze snapped back to the demon

I raised my hand ready to do some damage, how though I wasn't quite sure but Sam grabbed my arm and forced it down. I could see him trembling with rage at everything the demon was saying. Before I could stop him he raised his hand causing the demon to start gagging, black smoke pouring out of his mouth.

I turned away after I saw the sick look of satisfaction on Ruby's face. That's when I saw Dean standing there hidden behind the gate. A look of disbelief and betrayal crossed his face; I felt the guilt flowing through my body. A feeling that I was starting to feel way too much.

"How'd that feel?" Ruby asked as Sam checked the man's pulse.

"Good. No more headaches." I whipped around to face Sam when he said that.

"None? That's good."

"Good? Are you kidding me? How much did you give him?" I hissed at Ruby.

"I didn't give him any. And don't think I didn't see the way you were looking at him. It's not his fault you could never do it right."

"With how you're pushing him, I'm glad I can't do it anymore," I stopped arguing with Ruby when I noticed Sam had stopped helping the guy and was looking across the room. My gaze shifted to that direction and I found Dean standing there.

"So, anything you wanna tell me, Sam? Claire?"

"Dean hold on, okay?" Sam spoke up. I didn't have the courage to even speak, we had been caught. I hesitantly took a peek at Dean and instantly regretted it. He had a look on his face that could kill, and it probably will kill someone. Mainly Ruby.

"Just let me ex-"

"You gonna say, 'Let me explain'?" Dean said in a relatively clam voice cutting off Sam. It kinda freaked me out at how calm he was. "You gonna explain this? How about this, why don't you start with who she is and what the hell is she doing here?"

There it was. His anger was slowly yet surely making its way up to the surface. Sam's gaze then turned from Dean to Ruby causing Dean to look at her.

"Good to see you again, Dean." I rolled my eyes at the introduction.

"Ruby?" No one said anything. "Is that Ruby?" Dean's intense glare landed on me. I nodded slowly before turning my head so I didn't have to meet this glare.

Before I could even blink Dean had Ruby's knife out and attacked her. Sam quickly let go of the injured man leaving all the guys weight on me. I nearly collapsed under the guy's weight as I watched Sam stop Dean from killing Ruby.

The two fought for the knife before Sam gained control of it causing Dean to retaliate by slamming Sam into the wall. Ruby then grabbed Dean and slammed him up against the fence. I raised my hand ready to toss Ruby to the side if I needed to.

"Claire don't!" Sam yelled at me before yelling at Ruby to let go of Dean. I put my hand down before using it to help keep the near unconscious man standing.

"Well, aren't you an obedient little bitch." Dean hissed at her.

"Ruby," Sam tried getting her attention. "Ruby, help Claire. He's hurt," Sam commanded regarding the guy I could barely hold up. Ruby came over and helped me move the guy toward the door.

"Where the hell you think you're going?" Dean asked looking at us. I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or Ruby.

"The ER." Ruby hissed in response. "Unless you wanna go another round first."

"Ruby," I hissed not wanting her to push Dean any farther. Ruby and I then moved to the exit the injured man between us.

It wasn't a very long ride before we reached the hospital. We helped the guy into the hospital, Ruby even offered to drive me back to the motel but I told her it wasn't a good idea. After sending one last glare at the demon I made my way back outside and down the road.

It didn't take me long before the familiar motel sign came into view. I sighed not sure if I really wanted to go in there and face the music. I would have to eventually but if only I could hold it off a little while longer. Instead I found myself opening up the motel room door. I noticed Sam was sitting there at the table reading something.

"Where's Dean?" I asked quietly closing the door behind me.

"Claire, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you into this-"

"Sam, I became a part of this when I accidentally walked in on you and Ruby. And I probably should have tried harder to stop it."

"It's not your-"

"It is my fault. I shouldn't have let it go on for so long," I cut him off. I heard Sam sigh as I turned away from him.

I walked over to the chair on the complete opposite side of the room and fell into it. Sam gazed at me for another minute before sitting back down and staring at the book in front of him. Silence enveloped the room, tension sparked in the atmosphere as we waited for Dean. I put my head in my hands and sat hunched over until I heard the door open roughly before slamming shut.

I sat there, not able to move as I watched Dean grab his bag before he started throwing things in it. Sam was standing in front of the table watching Dean and I knew he was trying to figure out what to say next.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam finally asked. Dean didn't say anything. "Are you leaving?"

"You don't need me. You and Ruby go fight demons. I'm sure Claire will be more than happy to go with."

"Hold on. Dean. Come on!" Sam reached for Dean's arm. Dean retaliated by punching Sam in the jaw.

"Dean!" I shouted as I jumped out of the chair and was by Sam in a few seconds. Sam's lip was bloody as he turned back to face Dean. Sam pushed me back a little and I knew that it was in case Dean swung at him again.

"You satisfied?" Sam asked rhetorically.

Dean drew back his fist and punched Sam again. I jumped back in shock before I went at Dean and pushed him in retaliation for Sam. Dean grabbed my shoulders and pushed me in the direction of the beds. I missed the bed completely and landed on the floor between the beds. I was in shock not that I hit the floor instead of the bed but the fact that he even pushed me.

"Do you know how far off the reservation you've gone?" Dean asked his tone was dangerous. "How far from normal, from human? And you seem fine dragging Claire down with you!"

"I'm just exorcising demons," Sam replied. I slowly stood back up and watched the interaction not really wanting to get involved again.

"With your mind!" Dean shouted.

"You didn't have a problem when Claire could do it!"

"She's not you Sam!" Dean yelled right back. Ouch that hurt, it felt like he was saying he didn't care about me. I felt the anger build up inside of me at the thought.

"What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons. And that's it."

"What else can you do?" Dean asked viciously asked he grabbed Sam and pushed him back.

"I told you!"

_Get out of there. _There was that damn voice again. I looked around the room but it was only Sam and Dean fighting. _Come on. You don't need to be in there. _I slowly moved around the bed as Sam was explaining to Dean how he was saving more people. I was by the table when Dean hit the lamp causing me to jump as it smashed into the wall a few feet from me.

"If I didn't know you...I'd wanna hunt you," I heard Dean tell Sam. I froze and whipped around looking at the two. How could he say something like that? "And so would other hunters."

"You were gone." Sam explained tears brimming his eyes. "I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. I had to keep fighting for Claire. And what I'm doing...it works."

"Well, tell me, if it's so terrific then why'd you lie to me about it?" Dean asked. I looked at Sam confused. "Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

"What?"

"Cas said that if I don't stop you he will. See what that means Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So you're just gonna stand there and tell me that everything is all good?"

I could see that Dean was nearing tears. I'm sure everyone in the room was. _Claire. _My gaze snapped to the door, where the voice was beckoning me. Suddenly the sound of a cell phone ringing ripped through the tense atmosphere.

My thoughts were brought away from the voice and to Sam who was answering the phone. He was talking to another hunter was my guess; my gaze then switched over to Dean who's eyes never left Sam. When Sam ended the call and looked towards Dean who couldn't meet Sam's gaze.

I took that moment and finished my walk to the door. I opened the door taking one last look at the two brothers their gazes on me. I opened my mouth to say something but I just couldn't find the words. I shook my head before walking out and slamming the door behind me.

* * *

I sat in the back on the impala quietly, not daring to move as the guys talked about Dean's little trip to the past. Apparently Cas sent Dean back to when his mom and dad first met and Dean found out that Mary was a hunter. Who knew that the guys had it in their blood?

I felt bad for Sam because he had this longing to know his mother. Dean had all those memories of her. And then come to find out their grandparents had been murdered by yellow eyes. That had to be a low blow right there, I'm glad that I never had any desire to find out what happened to the rest of my family.

I let out a soft sigh as Dean pulled the Impala into the lone gas station. As soon as the car came to a complete stop I quickly exited the stifling vehicle and went into the store. I didn't bother asking either Winchester if they wanted something because eventually one of them was gonna wander into the store.

I came to a quick stop when I reached the liquor isle. I looked through everything they had and let me tell you, it wasn't very much so I grabbed the first bottle of whiskey my hand touched before turning and coming face-to-face with Sam.

"You really think that's a good idea?"

"I'm not driving," I retorted before moving around him. I then skipped an isle and went straight for the chips. I looked up and saw that Sam was still watching me. "It sucks. What happened with your mom and Azazel."

Sam scoffed. "I should have known. And what kills me is that this whole time he's been behind everything. But he's gone now."

"We still don't know what he was trying to do. For all we know we could still be playing his game."

"Why did they send Dean back?" Sam asked quickly changing the subject. I looked over at the cashier, he was giving us a funny look before turning back to the magazine in his hands.

"Sam, it's the angels. Who cares-"

"I care. I don't have one memory of her!" He answered raising his voice. "And they go and send Dean back? How is that fair?"

"I didn't know my mother either, okay? Someday I'm sure you'll find that maybe that's not such a bad thing."

I grabbed some chips before stalking my way to the counter and placing the stuff down. He rang up the chips and whiskey before asking to see my ID. I showed him my driver's license before I paid and walked outside.

I caught Dean's gaze as I opened the whiskey bottle. I took a swig before finishing my walk to the car. I ignored both Winchesters and kept to myself in the back seat as we got back on the road.

At some point after the gas station the topic of Azazel came up again. Sam then told Dean he knew Azazel fed him demon blood and not only was I surprised but I could tell Dean was angry. I wasn't sure whether Dean was more angry at the fact that Sam has demon blood in him or that Sam kept important information a secret from the rest of us.

We made it to Carthage, Missouri not too long after we found a phone book which eventually led to this Jack Montgomery's house. Both guys had binoculars so they could see into the house better than I could.

"Well, you sure that's him?" Dean asked. I squinted my eyes a little hoping it would help my vision a little.

"Only Jack Montgomery in town," I replied before Sam could say anything.

"And we're looking for...?" Dean trailed off.

"Travis said to keep an eye out of anything weird." I reached forward and grabbed the binoculars from Sam and this time I got a good view of him bent over looking in the fridge.

"Well, I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top. But this guy...come on this guy is boring."

"I don't know Dean," Sam replied. I continued to watch him. "Travis seemed pretty sure."

I watched the seemingly normal man while Sam and Dean talked back and forth about what possible weird this could be. I was shocked when I saw him bend down and pull some raw turkey legs out of the fridge and then just stuff it in his mouth. He didn't heat it up or anything.

"Oh my god that is so disgusting. You guys want wanna look at this," I said quickly handing the binoculars back to Sam.

"I'd say that qualifies as weird," Sam answered pulling the binoculars away from his face a shocked expression on it.

Dean had a disgusted look on his face when he pulled the binoculars away from his face. I made gagging noises before Dean started up the car and drove us back to the motel.

"I'm sorry but what seriously pushes a person to eat raw meat?" I asked looking between the two as we neared our door.

"Beats me," Sam said as Dean unlocked the door. "We'll know soon enough after we get a hold of Travis."

Sam and Dean walked into the room first but both stopped abruptly causing me to run right into the back of Dean.

"Travis!" I heard Dean call out in greeting. I looked around him and noticed a man sitting there at the table with a beer in his hand. He had on a button up shirt and a vest with just regular jeans; he also had a cast on his right arm. He kinda reminded me of Bobby.

"See Sam? I told you we should've hid the beer." Dean commented quietly.

"Smart-ass. Get over here!" Travis greeted pulling Dean into a brotherly hug. He then did the same thing to Sam.

"Man you got tall kid!" Travis said to Sam. I hung back not wanting to interrupt the reunion. "How long's it been?"

"Gotta be 10 years," Sam replied. They talked a little more before Travis' eyes turned to me.

"And who is this beautiful woman right here?" Travis asked looking at me.

"Claire Williams," I greeted holding out my hand. A look of recognition crossed his face.

"Not Rob William's daughter?"

"Yeah," I nodded slightly wondering how this guy knew my dad.

"Sorry to hear about what happened to him, good man, good hunter."

"Thanks," I replied softly.

"And you two," Travis turned looking at Sam and Dean. "John would have been damn proud of you sticking together like this and helping out Rob's little girl." I blushed a little as he mentioned me being dad's little girl.

"Yeah. No, we're as thick as thieves. Nothing's more important than family." Dean stated. He glanced at me before looking back at Travis. "Met Claire a few years ago, she's family now."

I glanced up at Dean not sure if he was putting on an act or if he really meant it.

"Sorry I'm late for the dance." Travis started walking back over to the table and sitting down. "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little short-handed." He motioned to his cast. Sam pulled up a chair and sat down leaving me the only one left standing.

"So you track down Montgomery?" Travis asked. I looked around awkwardly for somewhere to sit.

"Yeah, we found him at his house," Sam answered glancing at me wondering what I was doing.

"And?"

"He had a hell of a case of the munchies. Topped off with a burger he forgot to cook."

"That's him, all right."

"What is he?" I asked a little impatiently.

"Boys...and Lady, we got a Rougarou on our hands." Travis explained a little dramatically.

"A Rougarou?" Dean asked. "Is that made up? That sounds made-up," Dean replied looking to Sam for confirmation.

"They're mean, nasty little suckers," Travis continued. "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well, that ain't this guy," Dean replied confused. "He was wearing a cell phone on his belt."

"He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human for all intents purposes."

"So what? They go through some kind of metamorphosis?" Sam asked.

"Yup, like a maggot turning into a blowfly." Well that was a disgusting comparison. "But most of all, they're hungry."

"For what?" I asked not really sure I was gonna like the answer.

"At first, for everything," his gaze landed on me. "But then for long pig."

"Oh gross," I muttered as Sam scoffed.

"Long pig?" Dean asked confused.

"It means human flesh." Sam explained to Dean to get him back into the loop.

"And that is my word of the day." I rolled my eyes at Dean's comment while Travis laughed.

"Hunger grows until they can't fight it. Until they gotta take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens."

"What happens?" Sam asked.

"They transform completely, and fast. One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin all turn. No going back either," Travis explained glancing between the three of us. "They feed once, they're a monster forever. Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

"How'd you even know Jack was here?" I asked before anyone else could.

"It runs in his family."

"You mean-"

"Killed his daddy back in '78," Travis cut Sam off. "Son of a bitch mangled eight bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac. Trophy wife. Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

"You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?" Sam asked jokingly. Travis let out a small laugh.

"I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid. I don't think I'd had the heart. No. I wanted to wait. Make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently I do."

* * *

**Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Anyways hope you enjoyed this can't wait to hear what you guys think of it! Thanks to my wonderful beta, she's amazing! And to all my readers, I thank you. Hopefully by this point everyone knows I don't own supernatural. Okay awesome, please leave a review!**


	5. Free Will vs Instinct

_**Chapter 5 – Free Will vs. Instinct**_

I don't know how Sam managed to pull it off but there we both sat in the library. After the whole fiasco I didn't think Dean would let Sam out of his sight. Apparently I wasn't too much to worry about.

Sam was off trying to find more lore on Rougarous, while I buried my head in books about angel lore. Bobby wasn't kidding when he said there was a ton of it, but I was only looking for something specific. I had gone through at least a dozen websites before I finally found it. Grigori.

A group of angels said to be created by the holy man himself, which I already knew. They were created to protect a gate that held something so powerful it would bring about the apocalypse if released. Most made the mistake of calling them witches, but they were far from it. Last recorded claim of a so called Grigori was in the late 1830's. A man claimed a woman came to him saying she had a message from the angels and that woman was Alexandra Ivory.

Well isn't that just freaking fantastic. My great great great whatever was a supposed Grigori. I opened another link hoping to find out more about The Fallen Watchers.

"You okay?" a voice asked from behind me. I jumped and quickly turned around and came face to face with Sam.

"Jesus Sam, trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked a bit more harshly than I meant to. I quickly exited out of the search browser before standing up.

"Sorry, you just seem really concentrated on something. What were you researching?"

"Nothing. Just some more background on the angels." I skirted around the truth. I didn't exactly lie, I just didn't tell him specifically what I was looking for.

"Okay," Sam replied slowly, a suspicious look on his face. "Anyways I found some more on Rougarou lore. Some stuff I'm positive will help us."

I pulled the papers away from Sam and read through one of the stories that was sitting on top. It was about how a man overcame the gene by eating lots of raw meat but not human flesh. There were a few stories like that. I looked up at Sam and he looked like a kid who had just found $20 lying on the sidewalk.

"You think that will work?" I asked handing him the papers back.

"I'm not sure but all we can do is pitch it to Dean and Travis and see where it goes."

I nodded slightly before following Sam out of the library. If Travis was anything like I thought he was, I seriously doubt he was gonna go for Sam's idea. Dean might but that all depended on whether Dean really felt like trusting Sam...or me for that matter.

The one thing I loved about small towns was everything was within a few blocks of each other so it didn't take long for Sam and me to get back to the motel. Once we got into the room I noticed that Dean and Travis were rigging mini gas cans to be mini flame throwers.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" Sam asked noticing the weapons as well.

"None to waste," Travis replied, typical old school hunter eager to get things done with. "The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

"Well, what if he doesn't hulk out?" This caused both Dean and Travis to look at Sam curiously. "I did a little homework. I've been checking out the lore on Rougarous."

"What, my 30 years experience not good enough for you?" Travis asked defensively. And there it was: the egotistical hunter I was looking for.

"What? No!" Sam said quickly. "No, I just wanted to be prepared. I mean not that you didn't-"

"Sam loves research," Dean answered saving Sam from further embarrassing himself. "He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his K-Y. It's a sickness." I rolled my eyes.

"Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this Rougarou gene or whatever. See, they start to turn but they never take that final step."

"Really?" Dean asked.

"No human flesh, no fully transformed Rougarou." I explained.

"So...Go vegan, stay human?"

"Basically. Or, in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not-"

"Long pig!" Dean finished a grin on his face. I shook my head at Dean's fascination with the new word in his vocabulary.

"Good on you for due diligence, Sam," Travis replied after a moment of silence. "But those are fairy tales. The fact is, every Rougarou I ever saw or heard of, took that bite."

"Okay, well, that doesn't mean Jack will," Sam stood up. Oh boy here we go.

"So, what do we do? Sit and hope, and wait for a body count?" Travis was taunting Sam now.

"No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it." I watched the two argue back and forth, ready to stop Sam from hitting anyone if it came to that. I looked over at Dean and saw he was tense, looking between the two as well.

"Fight it," Travis laughed at the idea. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry? I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?"

"Yeah," Dean answered referring to his four months dead.

"Right then. So someone slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?" Travis had a point. "That's what we are to him now. Meat on legs. I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in natures gotta eat. You think he can stop himself because he's nice?"

"I don't know," Sam replied harshly. I could tell his anger was getting the best of him. "But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for."

I could tell that Sam was trying to keep his emotions in check. He quickly walked out of the room leaving me Travis and Dean standing there. Travis looked at Dean a confused look on his face.

"What's up with your brother?"

"Don't get me started," Dean commented. I sent a glare at Dean before looking at Travis.

"Maybe he's just not a cold hearted as you, Travis." Travis gave me an angry look while Dean looked at me a confused expression crossing his face. I glanced over at Dean, it hurt when he didn't say anything. Is he even the Dean I remember?

* * *

At some point along the way, we all ended up pushing each other away. First it was me pushing Sam away, then I tried pushing Dean away. Now Sam is inadvertently pushing Dean away by using his psychic abilities. At this point I'm not sure if Dean's pushing me away because he's mad or if it is because of something else.

I was pulled out of my depressing thoughts as the car jerked to a stop and both the driver side and passenger side doors opened before slamming shut. I mean I knew they had been talking about Jack but I didn't know it had escalated like this. They were shouting at each other, which caused me to jump out of the car quickly.

"The way you talk to me!" Sam yelled at Dean. To say I was confused was an understatement. "The way you look at me like I'm a freak!"

"I do not," Dean defended himself.

"Even worse, like I'm an idiot!" Sam kept going ignoring Dean. "Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong!"

Dean just shook his head, looking at the ground before looking back at Sam.

"What?" Sam asked irritated his hands on his hips.

"Do you know the difference, Sam?" Dean asked his anger showing.

"Dean, don't," I butted in hoping to stop the conversation.

"Claire, stay out of it," Dean threw at me.

"No!" I shrieked. "You always tell me to stay out of it Dean but the fact is I'm a part of all this crap too! I want Sam to stop just as much as you do but you know what? Yelling and screaming at each other isn't helping!"

"And you would know?" Dean raised his voice. "Your solution to everything is running away! Your powers are just as bad as his! You've been strolling a dark road, both of you." Dean told us.

"You have no idea what I'm going through. None." Sam bit back harshly.

"Then enlighten me!" Dean shouted.

"I've got demon blood in me Dean! This disease pumping through my veins and I can't rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak."

I felt bad for Sam. I mean I used to think that we were alike because I used to have powers like he does, but now I know we are nothing alike. He has to deal with the demon blood, while I've never had any in my system. Then there was Dean who was constantly riding Sam about it, which I understand because he's just trying to protect his brother.

"I'm just trying to take this curse and make something good out of it, because I have to."

It was quiet as Dean looked away with a contemplative look on his face before Sam's voice brought his gaze back toward him.

"And don't you dare pass any judgment on Claire's part. It was an honest mistake she even found out. Hell if it wasn't for her during those four months you were gone Dean I'm not sure I would still even be here. She hasn't done anything wrong and you know it."

I sent a grateful look toward Sam who nodded in response. Everything was quiet as all eyes were turned to Dean waiting for him to say something. His gaze turned to me for a moment before he looked back at Sam.

"Let's just go talk to the guy," Dean finally said breaking the silence. Sam scoffed when Dean didn't use Jack's name. "I mean, Jack. Okay?"

The car ride to Jack's house was dreadful, I mean no one said a word. Dean wasn't even playing music so the car was quiet and tense. At this point I wasn't sure who I wanted to strangle more, Sam or Dean. I was extremely glad to get out of the car once we got to Jack's after what seemed like forever.

We made our way through his yard to see him watering his or his wife's garden. In the garden there was this blue glass ball sitting on a column as a decoration. It brought back memories of a time I was playing soccer in a friend's backyard and I hit the ball too hard causing the ball to fly toward the decoration and smash it to little pieces.

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam asked pulling me out of my thoughts. It took the guy a minute to register that someone was talking to him before he turned around. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean and our friend, Claire Williams. We need to talk."

It was quiet as Jack looked at each of us up and down before asking, "About?"

"About you. About how you're changing."

"Excuse me?" the guy asked but he didn't look confused.

"You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin," Dean explained. "Your appetite's reaching, you know, Hungry, Hungry Hippo levels. How am I doing so far?" Dean asked.

"And your hunger is more towards meats, cooked...and raw," I stated causing him to look at me.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Jack asked with a blank face.

"We're people who know something about something," Dean answered vaguely.

"We're people who can help," Sam said right after Dean. "Please just hear us out."

"Okay," Jack answered slowly. "What's happening to me?"

"We're pretty sure you're what they call a Rougarou," I spoke up first.

"A what?" he asked confused.

"A Rougarou," Dean reiterated. "I know it sounds made up, but believe me it's not."

"All right, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just—I don't know! I'm just sick or something."

"Your father was one of these things." A look of confusion crossed Jack's face at Sam's comment. "Your real father, he passed it onto you."

"No," Jack shook his head in denial. "Are you guys listening to yourselves? You sound like-"

"Let's skip the whole 'you guys sound crazy', shall we? You're hungry, Jack," Dean said annoyed cutting off Jack's rant. "You're only gonna get hungrier."

"Hungrier for?"

"Long pig," Dean answered simply not sugar coating it. "A little 'Manburger Helper' may have crossed your mind already."

"No," Jack answered much more calmly than I thought he would.

"You don't have to give into it, Jack. You just have to work around it," I tried swaying him.

"You can fight it off. Others have," Sam tried.

"No!"

"We're not gonna lie. It's not gonna be easy," Dean commented. "You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming in whiskey. But I'm telling you, you gotta say no. Or-"

"Or what?" Jack asked cutting Dean off.

"You feed once and it's all over," Sam answered. "And then we'll have to stop you." Jack looked between the three of us a look of disbelief on his face.

"Stop me?" He asked. "My dad, did, uh, somebody stop him?" He was getting hostile, I could see it in his eyes.

"Yes," I whispered.

"Get off my property, right now!" Jack demanded. "I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."

"Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger."

"Now!" Jack shouted gaining the attention of his neighbor.

I glanced over at the man who had stopped trimming his bushes and was looking at us with curiosity. Reluctantly I followed after Sam and Dean.

"Good talk," Dean comment sarcastically.

"He can still stop himself. He just needs time to think that's all," I replied hotly.

"And how much time does he need before he sinks his teeth into some poor unsuspecting person." Dean shot back.

After we got back to the car Dean tried getting a hold of Travis to let him know what was going on but he couldn't get through. The plan was to follow Jack around and make sure he didn't kill anyone. Jack had been walking around town for hours and when the sun finally disappeared he stopped and sat on a bench, taking out his phone.

He was on his phone for a few minutes before something in the building in front of him caught his eye. About three stories up there was a woman standing in front of her window unbuttoning her shirt. Now what would possess a person to undress in front of a window? We were all watching intently to see what he would do next.

"Damn it, Jack! No!" Sam exclaimed as Jack raced toward the building and started climbing the fire escape. We grabbed our customized flame throwers and got out of the car. I stayed outside as backup or in case Jack tried to get away while Sam and Dean ran into the building hoping to get to the woman before Jack did anything.

I watched as he crouched in front of the window and watched the woman. His head would jerk every now and then. I shook my head as he touched the glass and the lights in the apartment shut off.

"Don't Jack," I whispered. Then just like that Jack quickly climbed back down to the ground. I was glad he didn't do anything as I watched him run toward his house. I glanced back at the apartment building before taking off after Jack.

It was probably a pretty stupid thing to do but I had to make sure Jack wasn't going to kill anyone along the way. It probably looked weird with me running down the road a lighter and gas in my hand. I quickly came up to the house and stopped out of breath looking around at the surrounding neighborhood. That's when I spotted Travis' car.

"Shit!" I exclaimed before racing through the front door. When I walked in I went straight for what looked like the living room. I saw Travis standing there watching the wife who was tied to a chair and Jack was handcuffed to one of the columns.

"Travis, what the hell are you doing?" I shouted causing the wife, Michelle to look at me fear raging in her eyes.

"Claire. I knew he would give in."

"But he didn't! Look at him, Travis, earlier he had the chance to kill a woman but he didn't he chose not to!"

"It doesn't change what will happen to him eventually!"

I glanced over at Jack who was finally waking up. He struggled against his restraints when his eyes fell on his wife. Travis walked into Jack's view.

"Michelle! Okay we're gonna stay calm. We're gonna give this man whatever he wants," Jack coached Michelle. "Okay, anything just take it and go please."

"I'm sorry about this Jack," Travis commented. He walked over and untied Michelle's gag. "I truly am. It's not the way that I wanted it to go."

"Who are you?" Jack asked. I stayed out of view so I didn't create any more problems.

"You already met some friends of mine. Two brothers and a woman."

"They said that if I-" He cut himself off. "Look, I haven't hurt anybody."

"Not yet, but you would've. They always do."

"Travis enough!" I shouted coming into everyone's view. "Let him go or I swear I will make you let them go."

"I'm doing him a favor," Travis growled looking at me.

"Jack, what are they talking about?" Michelle asked her husband.

"Tell her the truth, Jack. She deserves to know," Travis said stepping closer to Jack. I stepped in front of Jack keeping Travis from going any further.

"Just let her go. She's not a part of this."

"A part of what?" Michelle asked again. "Jack?"

"I really do apologize but she is a part of this."

"What?" Jack and I asked at the same time.

"Michelle. Tell him what you told me when I got here." It was quiet as all eyes were trained on Michelle but she was only focused on Jack.

"I said, 'Don't hurt me...because I'm pregnant.'" Michelle was in tears as she responded.

Jack said, "Just hold on a minute" while I hissed, "Travis you can't!"

"Now you see the mess we're in?" he replied addressing both of us. Then his eyes were trained on me. "I can't make this mistake all over again. I won't be around in 30 years. This has got to end now." His eyes then went back to Jack. "I know you don't believe me, but I'd give anything not to have to do this."

Jack was shouting no at Travis while Michelle begged for her life. I watched frozen as Travis pulled out the same thing I had been carrying earlier, he was ready to burn Michelle...alive. I quickly made my way over to Michelle and started untying her hands but I was cut off as something hard came in contact with the back of my head. Michelle screamed as I hit the ground.

I rolled onto my back and watched as Travis brought the hard red metal container down and hit me again. I was barely conscious as I listened to the sound of Travis pouring gasoline onto the carpet. Jack and Michelle were begging for Travis to stop and I was useless at this point. I felt liquid run over me.

"Sorry, Claire, but if you're willing to let them go and be a danger to the world you deserve to burn with them."

I felt some of the gas get into my mouth and I weakly spit it out. I was still trying to gain the will to move but there was so much pain in my head it was hard to. I listened as Michelle cried and Jack sounded like he was trying to break the handcuffs. I let a small groan escape my lips before I heard two bodies crash to the ground.

I finally got the strength to sit up and I felt the pools gas slowly slide off me and there was blood on my forehead where Travis had hit me. I watched as Travis and Jack struggled. Jack had gotten the upper hand but then Travis did, which eventually led to Jack breaking Travis' cast and arm again. I watched in horror and Jack lowered his head and took a bite out of Travis.

"Jack, no!" I yelled but it was no use. He was chewing away at the skin he had just ripped from Travis. Travis was bleeding so badly that he was dead within seconds before Jack took another bite. I quickly got up, my head spinning in the process and knelt down behind Michelle and untied the rope.

Jack's deadly gaze locked onto Michelle and me. I had to get her out of here, she deserved that much. Michelle stood up quickly gasping at the sight of her husband. Jack walked toward us as I pushed Michelle to the door.

"Stay away from me!" Michelle screamed at Jack.

"Michelle!" Jack cried. He was heartbroken as he watched Michelle run out the door. His gaze then turned to me and here I was a defenseless gas covered piece of meat.

"Jack," I softly said not moving.

"Get out!" I shook my head at his demand.

"No, I can't do that." Before I could react Jack was in front of me hand on my throat. He picked me up and tossed me across the living room. The last thing I remember is hitting a picture frame before falling to the floor out cold.

I wasn't sure where I was when I woke up. It wasn't dark but it wasn't too well lit either. I went to stand up and I got a face full of a leather coat. I looked around and finally realized I was in a coat closet. Great I was probably dinner for later. I heard voices on the other side of the door that sounded a lot like Sam and Dean.

I tried the door knob but it was locked. I started pounding my fist against the door hoping to get someone's attention. I stopped when I heard struggling going on and Sam shout Dean's name then everything became quiet. The door swung open and Jack threw Sam's unconscious body on top of me before slamming the door shut again.

"DEAN!" I screamed at the door.

"Shut up!" I heard Jack yell back.

"Jack let him go!" There was no reply. I turned my attention to the massive weight that was currently sitting on top of me.

"Sam," I whispered patting his cheek after I had successfully got him off me. "Come on Sam, wake up." I noticed there was blood coming from a wound on his head and his nose. I looked back to the door.

"Jack," I called out hoping he would answer.

"What?" was his strangled reply.

"Please tell me he's alive."

"He's fine!" he cried back. I sighed in relief.

"I'm not sure if you know this but the guy you are currently holding out there, I really care about him. And I know you know how it feels to have a loved one ripped away from you. And I know you don't want to cause anymore pain."

"Michelle's gone! What more do I have to lose?"

"Killing Dean is not gonna solve the problem."

"You saved Michelle. Why?" Jack asked through the door.

"She didn't need to die. You were still good. You're still Jack, you can stop."

"No, I can't." I heard movement behind me. I noticed Sam was awake and when his eyes landed on me a look of relief crossed his face as he pulled me into a hug. He then started pulling on the door knob.

"Dean?" Sam asked through the door.

"Dean can't come to the phone right now," Jack replied sounding like he was in pain.

"Jack!" Sam shouted slamming his hands against the door. "If you hurt him, I swear to God-"

"Calm down! Your brother is alive!" I watched as a look of relief crossed his face once again. "But not if you don't calm down."

"All right. Jack, listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?"

"Oh, we'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." He asked sarcastically

"Jack please, remember what I said earlier!" I called out through the door.

"I don't think so," he replied to not letting us out. "After what you did maybe I would let her out, but not you!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam called through the door. He was digging through his pockets for something to pick the lock with. Jack explained how Travis broke in and tried to burn Michelle alive.

"What? Why?" He looked down at me.

"Michelle's pregnant," I whispered to Sam. His eyes widened in realization. He then turned around and grabbed one of the wire coat hangers and molded it so it would work.

"Listen to me. You gotta believe me. Claire, my brother and I would never hurt her, okay?"

"Oh, God, I'm so hungry," we heard Jack say.

"Jack, don't do this!" Sam pleaded working with the lock.

"Jack! Please don't do it!" I cried through the door.

"I can't ever see my family again. You three, your friend, you made me into this!"

"No one is making you kill us!" Sam pulled the hook out of the door seeing as it wasn't working. "Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you, I know. Believe me I know, but that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster."

"Have you seen me lately?" Jacked asked sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do," Sam commented. I watched him carefully wondering if he was talking about Jack or himself. "It's your choice."

It was quiet before I heard grunting on the other side. I knew that no matter what Jack wanted to do he was hungry and he was gonna eat another person if someone didn't stop him. If Sam didn't hurry the next one is gonna be Dean.

"Sam, hurry," I pleaded actually scared that we were gonna lose Dean again. Sam finally got the door open and as we got out Jack was opening his mouth to bite Dean. Sam reached down and grabbed the can of gas and pulled out his lighter.

"Jack!" Sam called out. He stood there ready to kill Jack as the two had a stare down. I was a few feet behind Sam in case he did have to light Jack on fire I didn't want to go up in flames either. Jack jumped up and headed toward Sam who retaliated and lit Jack on fire.

Jack screamed in agony before falling to the ground. I looked up and noticed Dean was no longer unconscious but he was watching the scene in front of him. I took a chance and very carefully made me way around Jack and the fire and raced toward Dean.

I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. I was relieved when I felt his strong arms wrap around me and held me close. I felt his chin on my head and I felt content just sitting there but I knew we had to get out of here. Dean pulled me up and he started to walk toward Jack who was lying on the floor covered in flames, but I stopped and pulled back both guys who looked at me with confused faces.

"Travis doused me in gasoline." An angry look crossed both of the guys' faces.

"If he wasn't dead I would have killed him," Dean angrily answered before walking over to the couch and grabbed the blanket that was lying on the back of it. He wrapped it around me and we carefully made our way around the still burning corpse and outside.

After getting into the car Dean stopped along a deserted highway and pulled over. I grabbed some clothes and went behind a bush and quickly changed so at least my clothes weren't covered in gas anymore. Once I got back in the car it was quiet. Sam looked like he had something on his mind.

"You did the right thing, you know," Dean broke the silence. "That guy was a monster. There was no going back." It was quiet for a minute before Dean spoke up again. "Sam, I wanna tell you I'm sorry. Claire, I'm sorry. I've been kind of hard on you two lately."

"Don't worry about it, Dean," Sam replied weakly. I small smile crossed my face at the sound of them apologizing.

"It's just that your psychic thing, it scares the crap out of me."

"Look, if it's all the same, I'd really rather not talk about it." And there went the peace.

"What? You don't wanna talk about it? You?"

"There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you," Sam replied bitterly. "I can't make you understand."

"Well why don't you try?" Dean retorted.

"Guys," I tried intervening.

"I can't, because this thing, this blood, it's not in you or Claire the way it's in me. It's just something I gotta deal with."

"Not alone," Dean replied. My head snapped toward Dean when he said this.

"Anyway," Sam sighed. "It doesn't matter. These powers it's playing with fire. I'm done with them. I'm done with everything." A look of surprise crossed Dean's face and confusion crossed mine.

"Well that's a relief. Thank you."

"Don't thank me, I'm not doing it for you. Or for the angel, or Claire, or anybody. This is my choice."

I sighed as the car once again fell into silence. I decided right then and there that I needed to give them some time. Maybe they would work on things a little more without me around. Wonder how Pam is doing?

* * *

**Hey lovely readers! Sorry about the long wait, with school going on things get pretty hectic! I mean damn, you'd think they would refrain from from killing us with work but they love giving us tons of work. Anyways now that my rambling is done, I hope you will take a little time and review, but if not that's okay at least you read it right? As you all know I don't own Supernatural but I do own my own characters. Thanks!**


	6. That Wasn't the Plan

_**Chapter 6 – That Wasn't The Plan**_

I stood outside Pam's house debating whether or not I should stay or go. I could go back and catch up with Sam and Dean who were somewhere in Pennsylvania, well at least that's where I ditched them. I turned to leave when I heard the front door open.

"You traveled all this way and you're not even gonna knock?" Pam's voice floated across the yard. I turned and sighed at the sight of Pam standing there in her jeans and black tank top only this time her outfit had an extra addition a pair of dark sunglasses covering her eyes.

"How'd you-"

"Just because I can't see doesn't mean I don't have my other senses. Come on in."

"I'm not sure if that's such a great idea. I mean last time-"

"Wasn't your fault, now get your ass in here or I'll drag you in here myself!" Pamela joked. I smiled and walked back onto the porch and into the house. My phone suddenly started ringing. I groaned before flipping open the phone.

"I'm sorry the person you are trying to reach currently doesn't want to talk to you, so maybe you should hang up and call again when you're not ready to bite her head off." I answered the phone.

"_I cannot believe you just up and ditched us! What the hell were you thinking?_"

"I'm sorry okay. But you and Sam needed time to yourselves you know, get back to your old selves and if there really is a good old fashion hunt maybe it'll help you guys a little bit." I tried reasoning.

"_Why do you think that running always solves things?_" Dean asked calmer than before but there was still an edge to his voice.

"Because in my experience, when you run, you tend to get more answers that way and besides I'm not running!" I argued. "If you really want to know, I'm at Pamela's."

"_Why?_"

"I told you-"

"_No, there's something else. I can hear it in your voice._"

"It's nothing, Dean. I promise. As soon as I find out I'll let you know."

"_Claire, just be careful._"

"I always am," I replied softly before hanging up. I let out a sigh before sliding the phone into my back pocket.

"Why don't you just tell him," Pam asked curiously. I jumped not expecting her to have been listening.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You love him. Don't go denying it either." She had that stupid 'I knew it' look on her face.

"Look, Dean's got enough emotional crap on his plate right now and the last thing he needs is me adding some more to it." I said firmly before I sat down on the couch. "Anyways I'm not here to talk about my emotional issues or Dean's for that matter."

"I didn't think you were. Now tell me what's up sweet cheeks?"

"I'm not sure if I wanna drag you back into it, Pam."

"Ah the angels, sure why not just jump right back in after they burned my eyes out?" Pam's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Look I know, okay, but I just have a few questions that I need answers to."

"Questions concerning...?"

"The Grigori." I answered quickly. Pamela visibly stiffened and the color drained from her face.

"How did you-"

"I had help. Listen Pam I don't know what the Grigori has to do with me but I know it's big. I need to know why."

Pam didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I should be worried or what but the lack of words was bothering me. Pam quickly stood up and made her way into the kitchen. Now I knew there was something she wasn't telling me.

"What do you know?" I asked as I watched Pam run right into the counter.

"Damn thing comes out of nowhere," Pam commented ignoring my question.

"Pam." She turned toward me a sigh escaping her lips.

"After I met your dad and helped him with you, he told me something that, until I lost my eyes, was crazy."

"Pam, did my dad believe in angels?"

"Your dad thought that at one point angels walked the earth. Lived among us and taught mankind a few things."

"The Grigori were shepherds."

"Then you know that they supposedly started going after humans, sleeping with them. They were said to have created a new bred, a half bred. They called them nephilim."

"I've never heard of them." I answered shaking my head. I was still sitting down watching Pam closely.

"There are probably a lot of things you haven't heard of."

"Why didn't he ever tell me about any of this?"

Pam sighed. "You know why."

I shook my head in disbelief. He's been dead five years and the man still has secrets hidden from me. Maybe I really should have stayed with Sam and Dean. I glanced back up at Pamela who had a sad look on her face.

"Do you know anymore?"

"I'm sorry sweetie." It was quiet for a few minutes before Pam spoke up, "You can stay here if you want." I nodded not saying anything. Even if I wanted to I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep.

A few hours later I found myself sitting on the guest bed, on my cell dialing Sam's number. I had tried calling Bobby but he didn't pick up. I waited as the phone rang and rang. I sighed ready to hang up when I heard his voice.

"_Hello?_"

"Sam. Hey."

"_Claire, you okay?_" He immediately asked.

"Yeah, Sam, I'm fine," I laughed at his assumption. "How are you and Dean?"

"_We're in the middle of Pennsylvania during Oktoberfest,_" Sam commented. I let out a small laugh.

"Dean must be in heaven."

"_You have no idea. To top it off we're working this case where so far two people have died and guess what killed them?_"

"The boogie man?" I asked sarcastically.

Sam laughed, "_Close. Dracula and Wolf Man._"

"You know those are characters from old horror movies right?"

"_See our problem?_"

"Any theories?" I asked immediately. Being there sounded a hell of a lot more fun than being stuck here learning about a heritage you never knew you were a part of.

"_Well we're actually on our way to another scene. I'll let you know though,_" Sam said and I could tell he needed to go.

"Sam one more thing, do you know anything about the Nephilim?"

"_Doesn't ring a bell, why?_"

"Just something I came across when I was researching."

"_Is that why you left?_" I sighed at Sam's question.

"I gotta go Sam. See you soon." I quickly hung up the phone. If I didn't know all the facts yet then Sam didn't need to know either.

I tossed the phone onto the bed next to me and laid back. With my feet dangling off the edge, I was about to drift off to sleep when that god damn high pitched angel frequency went ripping through my skull. I quickly sat up my hands over my ears but as soon as the sound stopped I heard the flapping of wings.

"You guys really need to shut off the high pitched 'I'm coming' noise." I groaned looking at the angel in the room.

"You're just more in tuned with us than most humans."

"More in tune?" I scoffed. "Guess that's one way to put it."

"Why are you not with the Winchesters?"

"They needed some brotherly bonding without me hanging around, plus I have questions that I need answers to."

"Your heritage is not important at this time," Cas tried explaining.

"Not important? Wow, you angels really don't want the rest of us to have lives."

"Seals are breaking, you need to be worried about those."

"Seals?" I asked confused.

"Dean didn't tell you?" This time Cas was confused, or as confused as an angel could be I guess. I shook my head causing Cas to sigh and look out the window. "Lucifer cannot rise."

"Lucifer's seals? The Devil? You're kidding right?" I asked standing up remembering something about Lucifer from my readings.

"Lilith is breaking them quickly and she needs to be stopped."

"What makes you think I'm going to be of any help whatsoever?" I asked my tone changing from worried to annoyed.

"It's in your blood." I didn't respond to what he said. Maybe if I was just quiet he would answer all my questions. "Wyoming was a test. We're not sure what Azazel was trying to accomplish, but we fear he got exactly what he was looking for."

"And what was that?"

"A nephilim." I scoffed in disbelief. "A rare find, even more so in this century."

"That's not possible." I sank down onto the bed.

"We were given orders not to harm you. God believes you still have a part to play in the battle against Lilith."

"And what part is that?" I asked looking away from Cas.

"Protect the seals," he answered before I heard the flapping of wings. I quickly looked back to where he was only to find him gone.

"Damn angels," I sighed before falling back on the bed again.

* * *

"Hey Dean, its Claire. This is like the fourth time I've called, where are you guys? Well whenever you feel like letting me know call me."

By this time I was aggravated. It's been two weeks since I've heard from either one of them, so either they are ignoring me or they're actually working things out. I threw my cell phone down on the kitchen table when Pam walked slowly in, using the wall as a guide. I stood up and helped her into one of the chairs opposite of where I had been sitting.

"So I think I found a solution to your problem."

"Which problem Pam? Cause I've got problems up the wazoo. Pick one."

Pam laughed, "The missing out on interviews problem."

"Right, that one, I was hoping you had a solution to my angel one but I'll take what I can get."

"Uh huh," Pamela sighed. "Anyway you know those ear-piece microphones?" I nodded my head not sure where she was going with this. "Well, buy one of those stick the microphone on one of those hunks you run around with. Now you can be a part of the interview."

"Pamela, you're a genius!" I exclaimed jumping up and walking toward the door.

"I know." She replied happily. I came to an abrupt stop.

"Where am I gonna get one of those?" Pamela just started laughing causing me to smile. Her laughing was cut off by the sound off my cell phone ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and check the number before answering it.

"Sam?"

"_We've got a problem._"

"What kind of problem?"

"_We've got these people dropping dead and we're not sure why. I mean, their hearts literally stop but there's no sign of a heart attack._"

"What else?" I asked as I excused myself and walked outside and leaned against the porch railing.

"_All three victims have these weird scratches on their arms. And before they died they were all jumpy and cautious._"

"I've read about this...where have I seen it," I commented more to myself than to Sam.

"_I called Bobby and he's working on it, but I wanted to see if you would know anything._"

"Sorry, Sam. Hey where are you guys? Maybe I could catch a plane and a help out?"

"_Sure. Uh Rock Ridge, Colorado._"

"I'll see you in a few hours."

I quickly hung up the phone and went back inside and packed my bags. I said bye to Pamela before making my way to the nearest airport. It took 2 hours to actually get a ticket and on a plane and another two hours before the plane landed in Colorado and another hour before I reached Rock Ridge and called Sam.

"_Yeah?_"

"Sam, I'm in Rock Ridge. Where are you?"

"_Bluebird Hotel, and Bobby has a theory: Ghost sickness._"

"Makes sense, uses fear to kill people, hallucinations, stuff like that. Great case solved how do we stop it?"

"_We gotta get rid of the ghost that started all this. But we have another problem._"

"What problem, Sam?" I asked worried.

"_Dean's infected._"

"In-infected." I stuttered. "You have got to be kidding me."

"_We think the sickness goes after certain people with a certain type of personality. Bullies or jerks, people who use fear as a weapon_."

"So it goes after dicks?" I heard Sam laugh.

"Yeah."

"How's he taking it?"

"_How do you think?_"

"Well that's just great. Well I'll see you in a few Sam."

I hung up the phone just as I reached the Bluebird Hotel. I sighed in relief when I saw Dean's car sitting in the parking lot. I parked and got out of the car just as Sam walked around the corner a bag of groceries in his hand.

"Sam!" I called out catching his attention. "Hey where's Dean?"

"Inside."

"How long do we have?"

"A little under 24 hours." I shook my head at Sam's reply. Leave it to Dean to catch ghost sickness. Wonder if he's having any hallucinations yet. I followed Sam back into the hotel and he stopped at the door unlocking it before going in.

Sitting in front of the door was a broken clock. The clock has spines sticking out of it like it was a replica of the sun, but some were broken off. The glass protecting the hands of the clock was shattered. Dean was sitting on the couch drinking beer.

"Great reinforcements," Dean commented after seeing me.

"Everything all right?" Sam asked.

"Oh yeah, just peachy. Find anything?"

"Yeah. Jessie O'Brian's body was cremated. So I'm pretty sure she is not our ghost." Sam explained sitting down in the chair before propping his feet on the coffee table like Dean had.

"Jessie O'Brian?" I asked.

"Yeah dead wife of patient zero, Frank O'Brian," Sam said looking at me. I looked over at Dean who was scratching his arm.

"Hey, stop picking at that!" Sam said kicking Dean's foot. I walked over to Dean and sat down next to him grabbing his arm and inspecting the scratch marks. I lightly ran my fingers over the skin.

"How you feeling?" I asked letting go of his arm.

"Awesome," he replied sarcastically. "Nice to have my head on the chopping block again. I almost forgot what that feels like. It's freaking delightful."

"We'll keep looking."

"Are you sure it's not connected to Frank's past somehow? Like maybe not his wife but someone else that didn't like him?" I asked looking between the two. Dean opened his mouth to answer but he started coughing.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked Dean who was having a coughing fit. Dean kept coughing but it looked more like he was choking or was gonna throw up. He grabbed his throat before making a mad dash toward the kitchen sink.

"Dean." Sam and I called out at the same time as he leaned over the sink still coughing. Just as Sam and I reached the sink Dean had spit something out. Dean turned on the faucet and washed it off.

"Is that a-" I cut myself off. Dean was holding a wood chip in his hand. He was coughing up wood chips.

"We've been completely ignoring the biggest clue we have: you." Sam stated looking at Dean who had a freaked out expression on his face.

"I don't wanna be a clue," Dean complained still looking at the chip.

"The abrasions, this, the disease, it's trying to tell us something."

"What, wood chips?" Dean asked sarcastically. He really gets sarcastic when his life is on the line doesn't he?

"Exactly."

"Lumber mill," I said suddenly. I saw the grin on Sam's face grow. "I saw one on my way into town."

We quickly got into Dean's car as he drove us to the mill. It was a painfully slow ride with a few smart-aleck remarks bouncing back and forth between Dean and myself. Once we reached the mill I got out and was met with squishy ground. I looked down and noticed at the wet wood chips covering the road.

"I'm not going in there," Dean said looking at the building. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry.

"Claire and I need back up," Sam tried to reason. "Two is good but three is better. You're going in, Dean."

"Yeah, so suck it up macho man," I commented before going around to the trunk. I watched as Dean pulled out a bottle of whiskey and drank before walking over to Sam and me.

"Let's do this!" Dean said shakily before unlocking his trunk. "It's a little spooky, isn't it?"

Sam opened the trunk and pulled out a shotgun handing it to me. Sam then pulled out Dean's beautiful gun before holding it up in Dean's direction.

"Oh I'm not carrying that." Sam was giving Dean the 'are-you-kidding-me' look. "It could go off," Dean shrugged before reaching in the trunk and grabbing the flashlight. "I'll man the flashlight."

"You do that," Sam responded. I laughed before I cocked the shotgun and headed toward the building Sam and Dean behind me.

Sam and I entered first, guns raised as Dean came in behind us shining the flashlight. I shook my head at the weird situation before the group came to a stop the EMF Sam had was humming. Sam pulled it out, the thing was going crazy. He then held it closer to Dena and it kept going.

"EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?" Dean asked.

"You don't say?" Sam replied before turning it off and putting it back in his pocket.

"Okay, I'm gonna go this way," I told Sam before starting off in the opposite direction the guys were going. I quietly maneuvered my way around the machines not wanting to tangle with all the blades. I was moving past what looked like the old break room when I heard someone scream.

I bolted in the direction and found it was coming from the locker room. I ran in gun held up but quickly lowered it when I saw Sam standing there an annoyed look on his face while Dean was jumping around still screaming.

"Dean!" I shouted cutting off his screaming. He put his hands on his knees and took a couple deep breaths.

"That was scary!" I looked down and saw there was a cat moving around the room. I shook my head before following after Sam. I wasn't sure if I should be amused by the situation or down-right annoyed.

Dean followed quickly as we reached another room. It looked more like an office or what used to be an office. I walked to one side of the room looking at some of the papers on the desk.

"Luther Garland," Sam commented holding up a lumber mill ID card. I looked over at Dean who was pushing away some papers while unfolding one he pulled from his pocket.

"Hey this is...This is Frank's wife." I walked over to where Dean was and saw the drawing sitting on the desk and in Dean's hand was a similar picture of the same woman.

"The plot thickens," Sam commented before walking towards us.

"Yeah, but into what?" Dean asked. Dean grabbed the drawing and yanked it up ripping the corner in the process. Suddenly the machines started turning on. I looked out the dirty window and saw that the machines were in fact working on their own.

I turned back to see Dean staring at something fear written on his face. I turned to see what had him riled up and saw a figure standing there it's back to us. I raised my gun just as Sam did, ready to shoot if needed. Sam moved forward but I stayed where I was.

"Hey!" Sam called out to the figure. As it moved Dean jumped before quickly turning and bolting out the door.

"Dean!" I called out causing Sam to turn and look at me. Just as Sam turned the other figure did as well before growling and running toward us. Both Sam and I pulled the trigger causing the ghost to disappear. Suddenly all the machines came to a stop and the mill grew quiet.

I turned and jogged back out to the car with Sam right behind me. I didn't see Dean at first but as I got closer to the car I saw him crouching near the ground near the trunk.

"I guess we've got the right place," Sam commented holding up Luther's mill ID. Dean took another drink from the flask that was permanently attached to his hand a frightened expression was on his face.

* * *

"Wait, why do I have to stay behind when he's the one scared out of his freaking mind!" I asked looking at Sam who was fixing his tie. He and Dean were going to the police station to get Luther's file.

"Because they already know Dean and if you show up with me that would look suspicious." I looked over at Dean who had this tired look on his face.

"Sam, he looks drunk!" I commented taking in Dean's disheveled look.

"Claire, just stay here and see if Luther has any living relatives left, okay?" Sam asked grabbing my shoulders.

"Okay, fine. What are your covers?"

"FBI, agents Tyler and Perry."

"Like Aerosmith?"

"Claire-"

"Okay okay!" I threw my hands up in defeat before grabbing his laptop and sitting on the bed.

"You know, Sammy she can go for me," Dean tried getting out of going.

"Come on, Dean." Sam pulled Dean out of the hotel room after much tugging.

I sighed before turning on the computer and looked up everything I could on the Garland family. After a half an hour I found that Luther's parents died when he was 17 and the last living relative was his brother who lived in an assisted living center.

I relayed my findings to Sam who thanked me before hanging up the phone. I started thinking about what Pamela had said bout those ear-piece microphone things. I really needed to find me one of those. Or maybe I could just order one off the Internet and have them send it to Pam's or Bobby's.

I groaned in frustration as the hours went by and still no sign of Sam or Dean. I didn't like that I was left here alone because that meant that I had all the time in the world to just think. My mind kept going back to that conversation Cas and I had a few days ago.

"_Wyoming was a test. We're not sure what Azazel was trying to accomplish, but we fear he got exactly what he was looking for."_

"_And what was that?"_

"_A nephilim." I scoffed in disbelief. "A rare find, even more so in this century."_

I pulled up the search browser and typed in Nephilim. Mostly I got a bunch of religious sites which would make sense considering nephilims were half angels. It was hard to get any solid lore on it because there were just so many different versions of the nephilim. The only thing the lore agreed on was that they were a blasphemy and God ordered the destruction of them.

Maybe Cas was telling the truth...I mean I don't have a reason not to trust him. I sighed thinking about Alex, if I was one of these things then it means she was too. Then Alexandra Ivory was a Nephilim not a Grigori.

I jumped as the hotel door swung open crashing into the wall. I turned and saw Dean slam the door shut quickly before putting his back to it and sliding down to the floor. He had a scared look on his face; he was panting and sweating like he had been running from something.

"Dean?" I asked confused as I walked over to him.

"It was...gonna...kill me," he panted. My face wrinkled in confusion before I shoved Dean away from the door and opened it. Sitting there was a cute little terrier all dolled up. My head tilted to the side confused as Dean peeked around the door and started yelling as the dog started barking. I quickly closed the door before grabbing Dean's arm and sitting him on the couch.

"Dean where's Sam?" I asked trying to calm the frightened Dean down. "Dean?" I asked again. I was taken aback when another look of fear flashed across his face and he tried moving away from me as fast as he could. I tried to grab his arm but he moved it away.

"Dean, what's wrong?" I asked finally grabbing a hold of him. He struggled for a minute before a look of recognition crossed his face. I was kneeling in front of him my hand on his cheek when Sam walked in.

"I looked everywhere for you, Dean! How the hell did you get here?" Sam asked walking in more worried than anything. I stood up and took a step away from Dean.

"Ran," Dean answered still out of breath. My eyes widened.

"Wait he wasn't with you?" I asked looking between the guys. Sam shook his head.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked looking between me and Sam. "I mean, I've got less than four hours on the clock. I'm gonna die Sammy." I shook my head at Dean's realization.

"You're not gonna die, Dean. We'll figure this out," Sam replied. A weird look crossed Dean's face.

"Back?" Dean asked. Sam's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?" he asked. Dean just sat there in a daze, he stood up and after he did he went flying back into the wall.

"Dean!" I jumped up as did Sam.

"You get out of my brother, you evil son of a bitch!" Dean shouted at Sam.

"Sam do something!" I shouted. Sam was up and on his feet and over to Dean. Sam was calling out Dean's name but it was like he couldn't hear Sam.

"Hey, hey, hey, Dean! Hey, Dean." Sam finally got through to Dean a look of recognition crossed Dean's face once again. Sam finally let go of Dean who was still panting from whatever just happened. Dean still had a weird look on his face.

"Claire and I have to go meet up with Bobby, you think you'll be fine here by yourself?" Sam asked pulling the tie from his neck and throwing it on the bed with the jacket. Dean just nodded his head. My gaze landed back on Dean after Sam went into the bathroom to change.

"What'd you see Dean?" I asked. "Your hallucinating aren't you?"

"It was nothing," Dean said quickly.

"It didn't look like nothing. You can tell me Dean."

The bathroom door opened and Sam came back out. Well that was fast. I sighed before following Sam out of the room. I reluctantly followed him down the hall before I stopped causing Sam to turn around confused.

"Are you sure he's okay there by himself?" I asked.

"The only thing we can do for him right now is figure out a way to kill Luther."

I nodded and followed Sam out and got in the Impala. Most of the way to the meeting spot the car was quiet. I finally turned on the radio and started flipping through channels until I found one that both Sam and I agreed on.

The sun was up at this point as the clock rounded 6:30. Sam and I had gotten there before Bobby so we were waiting for about ten minutes before Bobby pulled up.

"Howdy, Sam." Bobby greeted.

"Hey, Bobby."

"Claire I thought you were with Pamela?" Bobby said looking at me.

"The guys needed some help. Thanks for coming Bobby."

"Where's Dean?" Bobby asked looking around.

"Uh...heh, home sick." Sam replied before sitting on the hood of the impala.

"So have his hallucinations started yet?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, a few hours ago," Sam replied.

"How are we doing on time?" I looked at my cell phone to check the time.

"A little under 2 hours left," I answered.

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked. Bobby held up the book he had been holding.

"This encyclopedia of spirits dates back to the Edo period." Sam opened the book and I looked at it with him but the downside was it was all in Japanese.

"You can read Japanese?" Sam asked. Bobby said something in Japanese causing me to laugh, I don't know why but it was just funny. "I guess so. Showoff." A smile gracing Sam's face.

"Anyway, this book lists a kind of ghost that could be our guy. It infects people with fear. It's called a _Buru Buru_."

"Can we kill it?" I asked.

"Same as always, burn the remains," Bobby answered.

"Wonderful. Is there a plan B?" Sam asked.

"Well, the _Buru Buru _is born of fear. Hell, it is fear. And the lore says you can kill it with fear."

"So we have to scare a ghost to death?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much." It was quiet between the three of us for a moment.

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" I asked. I looked towards the mill trying to think of how to scare a ghost.

"I got it!" Sam said suddenly. "What was Luther scared of?"

"I don't know?" I spoke up quickly.

"He's gotta be scared of how he died. What if we kill him the same way he died when he was alive."

"Yeah Sam, great plan you know if we could wrap a chain around a ghost's neck," I replied sarcastically.

"Iron chain, maybe something extra. We'll lay it down in the mill, Claire and I will go in and be the bait. Bobby you stay outside and when we give the go ahead drive the car up and down the strip."

"Will that even work?" I asked looking at Bobby. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's all we got."

* * *

I shook my head as Bobby and I stood at the trunk of the impala loading some weapons. Sam was on the phone telling Dean that we had a plan. This was an absolutely stupid plan. If anything it was gonna get us killed.

"This is a terrible plan!" Bobby spoke up for the first time since Sam had set the plan.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"I know I said scare the ghost to death but this?" Bobby was ridiculing.

"If I die, Sam, I'm coming back and giving you ghost sickness," I interjecting before cocking the shotgun.

"Hey, if either of you have a better idea then I'm listening."

Neither of us said anything. I shook my head before following Sam into the abandoned mill. Everything was quiet which meant that Luther wasn't around right now. I went one way while Sam went the other. I had the walkie activated on my phone so I could talk with Sam.

"_Any luck?_" Bobby asked over the walkie.

"Sam, he's not here," I said into my phone.

"_I don't know what's wrong. Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's scared._" I heard Sam say over the walkie.

"_So now what?_" Bobby asked.

"_We gotta make him angry._"

I shook my head keeping my eye open for anything. I heard Sam shouting for Luther and the sound of paper ripping. I jumped when the machine next to me turned on. I turned around and came face to face with Luther but before I could fire the gun flew from my hands.

The next thing I knew some invisible force was holding me down on the conveyor belt. I struggled and turned my head so I could see where I was going.

"SAM!" I screamed when I saw I was heading for a giant saw that cut logs in half. I could only imagine what it would do to a person. I struggled some more and kept screaming. I heard the impala crank it before speeding off.

"SAM!" I screamed struggling and watching the fact that I was getting closer and closer to the blade. I turned my head back towards where Luther's office was and saw Sam running toward me. Once he reached me his eyes were wide when he saw what was happening. I was so scared as I tried to move but the force wasn't budging.

Sam had his arms wrapped around my stomach as he tried to pull me off the belt. I could feel the air rushing off the blade as I inched closer and closer.

"Hold on, Claire!" Sam shouted over the noise the machines were making. Right before my head hit the blade the force was just suddenly gone and the machines were shutting down. But Sam had been pulling when the force lifted causing both of us to tumble to the ground.

I sat up patting my body making sure this wasn't a dream. Sam sat up as well pushing some of the hair out of my face before smiling and pulling me into a hug. He quickly helped me up before he grabbed my hand and we raced outside.

Bobby was getting out of the impala as we reached the car. I noticed the chain was empty meaning we must have done something right. I let out a small laugh as Bobby gave me a look like I was crazy.

"What are you laughing about?""

"I almost got split in half so we could haul a ghost down this little strip of pavement. I'm glad I almost died for something we weren't even sure was gonna work." Sam laughed along with me but Bobby stayed quiet.

"I'm gonna go check on Dean, make sure he's still alive. You coming?" Sam asked.

"No, I have to talk to Bobby about something. You go ahead."

Sam nodded before climbing in the impala and driving off. I looked at Bobby with narrowed eyes before I followed him towards his car.

"When were you gonna tell me?" I asked.

"Tell you what?"

"That I was a nephilim." Bobby stopped short and I almost ran into him. He had a suspicious look on his face.

"How'd you-"

"The angels told me," I commented angrily. "You knew! I can't believe you knew and you never told me!"

"I knew I should have hid that damn book," Bobby commented before finishing his walk to his car.

"That's all your gonna say?"

"You know why your daddy kept it from you? He knew how drastically things would change if you found out. What do you think the angels are gonna do when this apocalypse is over? You're a liability to them!"

"I don't give a damn, Bobby! I don't care if I live or die! You still should have told me!" I yelled. I'm sure that anyone within a 10 mile radius could hear me yelling.

"I don't ever wanna hear you say that again. You have a lot of people who care about you!" Bobby hissed. "You know damn good and well it was to protect you! You don't like it? Tough. It was your Dad's choice."

"He still should have said something! At least the angels don't lie."

"You think the angels have your best interest at heart? You better think again. We were never actually sure if that's what you and Alex were at the time it was just a theory."

"Well it's not a theory anymore," I hissed just as Sam and Dean pulled up. I was glad to see that Dean was still alive. They pulled the impala up so it was parked parallel to Bobby car. I sighed as the guys got out ending my and Bobby's screaming match...for now.

"You gotta tell me how you guys did it," Dean said a grin on his face.

"We scared him the same way as Frank did 20 years ago. Chain around the neck." I replied flatly. Dean turned to his car and pulled out some beers.

"So you guys road-hauled a ghost..." Dean offered a beer to Bobby who passed before Dean handed the beer to me. "With a chain?"

"Iron chain, etched with spellwork." Sam said pointing to Bobby. I took a large gulp of the beer in my hand.

"Hmm. Well, that's a new one." Dean commented.

"That's what he was most afraid of. It was pretty brutal though."

"On the upside, I'm still alive, so go team." Dean cheered.

"Yeah go team," I replied sarcastically. "You're so lucky I didn't get split in half Dean. If I had I would have had to come back and given you all ghost sickness. Just don't wind up in this situation again. I'm begging you."

"Yeah," Sam replied. "How you feeling by the way?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Dean and I answered at the same time. "Wait who are you talking to Sam?" I asked. A grin crossed Sam's face before Bobby spoke up.

"You sure, Dean? Because this line of work can get awful scary."

"I'm fine. What, you wanna go hunt? I'll hunt. I'll kill anything," Dean said forcefully.

"Aww," Sam commented. I laughed.

"He's adorable." Bobby added. Sam, Bobby, and I all laughed to Dean's expense. "Well I gotta get out of here. You boys drive safe. You too Claire."

"You too, Bobby," Sam said waving. We watched as Bobby pulled away causing me to take another large drink of the beer.

"What's up with you and Bobby? Things were pretty tense when we pulled up," Dean asked.

"Just some more secrets he was keeping from me," I mumbled.

"Secrets?" Sam asked. I just nodded my head and kept quiet. The last thing I needed right now was for the guys to know I am a descendant of angels.

"So, uh, what did you see? Near the end, I mean?" Sam asked looking at Dean. I was grateful he dragged the attention from me back to Dean whether on purpose or not.

"Well, besides a cop beating my ass?"

"Seriously." I watched Dean's expression carefully when he looked at Sam. Something quickly passed over Dean's features but was gone before I could catch it. Dean looked to the ground for a minute before answering.

"Howler monkeys. The whole room full of them. Those things creep the hell outta me."

"Right," Sam said not actually believing Dean, I mean who would that was a terrible lie.

"No, just the usual stuff, Sammy. Nothing I couldn't handle." Dean took another drink of his beer. It was quiet as the sounds of nature went on around us.

"You guys know what next week is, right?" I asked looking between them a grin on my face.

"Oh no," Sam commented.

"Oh yeah." My grin grew. "Halloween, ring any bells?"

* * *

**Sorry it has taken so long to post this. Things just get busy. Anyways I'm hoping this will make up for the absence. I also hope that I didn't lose any readers during the long wait. As always reviews are appreciated!**


	7. Halloween, Anyone?

_****__**New Message at the bottom! Please REad if interested! **_

* * *

Chapter 7 – Halloween, Anyone?

I laughed as Dean stuffed more candy in his mouth causing Sam to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"How do you stomach it all?" I asked leaning against the car as Dean put gas in the impala.

"Years of practice," Dean commented smartly a grin on his face before sticking another piece in his mouth.

"Oh come on Sam, be happy. Halloween is in like 2 days."

"Every day is Halloween."

"Aw don't hate the holiday, Sam!" I laughed leaning in the window and looking at Sam who was still seated in the passenger's seat. He mumbled something but I couldn't hear what he said. Dean put another piece of candy in his mouth.

"Keep eating like that and you'll get fat, Dean." I commented a grin on my face before my cell started ringing. I checked the number before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Claire, its Bobby._"

"What's up?" I asked finding it weird he was calling me after the fight we had. Dean gave me a weird look which meant that the tone in my voice must have changed.

"_Neither of the boys are answering their phones so I thought I'd try you. Anyways, I have a potential case for you three._"

"Mmky, hold on a sec," I motioned to Sam asking for a pen and paper. He quickly opened the glove box and pulled out a pen and napkin. "Go ahead."

"_West Hessing, Missouri. A man dropped dead after swallowing four razors; the police think it was in the candy. I've got a feeling that's not the end of it and a few days before Halloween? Something's up._"

"Yeah, I'll talk to the guys and we'll head that way. Thanks Bobby," I replied before hanging up the phone.

"What did Bobby want?" Sam asked getting out of the car.

"Some guy in Missouri choked down four razors that were hidden in the candy. Bobby thinks there's more to it. He wanted us to go check it out." I answered handing Sam what I had written on the napkin.

"Let's go," Dean said after the impala's tank was full. I climbed into the car after Dean and just as he was pulling out I remembered what I wanted to tell them.

"Hey, guys. You know how everywhere we go you tend to leave me at the motel instead of letting me in on interviews?" I asked.

"I thought we were passed that," Dean groaned sees as how it was usually him I butted heads with about that.

"I know but I found a solution, where I can do both. It's called an ear piece microphone. All you gotta do is put this little microphone," I said holding up the small piece, "somewhere on you and I can sit outside or a block away and still hear the conversation. Now I won't be so out of the loop."

Sam grabbed the mini mic and looked over it a contemplative look on his face before he shrugged.

"I don't see why not," Sam said handing my little mic.

"Now we're going high tech?" Dean asked sarcastically.

"Oh come on Dean it's just one little mic. I'll put it on Sam, you don't ever have to see it."

"Fine," Dean sighed.

"Hallelujah. Finally, now I won't have to bug y'all about details!" I grinned before sitting back playing with the mic and ear piece.

* * *

"Okay, so I'm gonna put it right here," I said to Sam as I pinned the microphone onto his jacket behind the lapel so it was hidden. "Just don't touch it and things should be okay. I'll be lying in the back of the impala."

"What if someone sees you?" Dean asked straitening his tie.

"Who's gonna say anything?"

"Maybe the widow we're interviewing, if she sees you."

"Would you rather I sit in the trunk?" I snapped.

"Okay!" Sam interrupted stepping between Dean and me. "How about this, Claire can you fit down on the floor between the seats?"

"Yeah, it's small but I can manage."

"Okay, we'll put you on the floor, empty the duffel bags, and set them on top of you. That way it just looks like there are bags on the floor. Deal?"

I just nodded as Dean rolled his eyes. I sighed before checking that the mic was on before finally leaving Sam alone.

"Okay I'm gonna go outside. I need you to just talk to Dean and act like there's no mic there." Sam nodded and I went outside closing the motel door behind me. I put the ear piece in my ear and waited.

"_Okay, testing. Not talking into the mic but just talking..._" Sam trailed off. I smiled and walked back toward the room. Right as I reached the door Dean shouted like right into the mic causing me to yank the ear piece out of my ear before I lost my hearing.

"Asshole!" I yelled at him after I entered the room. Dean had a smart ass smirk on his face. I grabbed the pillow off the bed and threw it at him.

"Okay, let's go," Sam said quickly grabbing my arm and walking me back outside. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at Dean who just smiled in response.

Before Dean stopped in front of the house Sam had me lay down on the floor of the impala. It was definitely cramped, but I managed. Sam set the empty duffel bag on top of me leaving a space so I could breathe. As Dean pulled up to the house he came to a sudden stop causing me to smack my head against the seat.

I reached up and smacked him before Sam pushed my arm back down and fixed the bags. I heard Dean laughing as he shut the driver's side door. I let out a frustrated groan before putting the ear piece in. The guys went up and knocked on the door introduced themselves before the hysterical woman let them in.

The only flaw to my ingenious plan is the fact that I have no clue where in the house they were at. So I'm hoping Sam was smart enough to clue me in some way, and with it being Sam I knew he would.

"_So your husband died in the kitchen, ma'am?_" Sam asked. I grinned knowing he would ask.

"_Yes_," I heard her sniffle.

"_Now, how many razor blades did they find?_"

"_Two on the floor, one in his stomach...and one was stuck in his throat,_" She explained emotionally. I grimaced just imagining finding the man on the floor full of razor blades. "_He swallowed four of them. How is that even possible?_"

I groaned as the position I was in became extremely uncomfortable. Each time I tried to move it just got worse and worse. We were gonna have to find an alternative to me laying on the floor of the impala.

"_The candy was never in the oven_," I heard Mrs. Wallace criticize. I rolled my eyes before I heard Dean speak up.

"_We just have to be thorough, Mrs. Wallace_."

"_Did the police find razors in the rest of the candy?_" I heard Sam ask quickly. I groaned at the pain growing in my back as I listened to the woman go on and on about how she couldn't believe it had happened and it was an urban legend. Sam asked about enemies and possible affairs, the Mrs. did not like the question at all and got angry at Sam.

Sam and Dean then excused themselves and quickly made their way outside.

"Freaking witches," I heard Dean comment before the impala's doors opened and we were off.

"It's all clear, Claire," Sam said pulling one of the bags off me. I wiggled out of my position and onto the seat quickly stretching as much as I could in the car.

"We need to find an alternative to laying on the floor." I said as I popped my back.

"Whine all you want but that is all there is unless you wanna lay in the trunk," Dean retorted glancing at me through the mirror.

"I've got an idea how about we stuff you back here and I can actually go on the interviews!" I replied sarcastically glaring at him. He rolled his eyes and the car was silent the rest of the way to the motel.

As soon as we reached our lovely motel room, Sam allowed me to take the microphone off his jacket before he took it off. I turned to Dean and held out my hand and in response I got a confused look before he handed me the hex bag they had found.

I walked over to the couch and sat down placing the hex bag down on the coffee table before slowly opening the bag that caused a man to swallow four razors. Once it was all open I carefully studied each of the artifacts on the cloth. The first was a gnarled piece of some kind of herb, the next was an ancient looking coin, the last a charred piece of...bone.

Wait...I've seen bone like this before. I carefully held the bone up to my hand more specifically parallel to where the metacarpal bone in my hand was. I quickly put the bone down and backed away from the contents. I felt the couch dip next to me.

"What do we have?"

"I'm pretty sure that's a metacarpal bone," I said pointing to the charred bone. "But it is much smaller than mine so I'm guessing it's from a child or something..." I trailed off. I looked up just in time to see Dean walk out the door. I shook my head and turned back to Sam who had his laptop open and was studying the content in front of him.

Every now and then I would give him an opinion or a theory and then we turned to the laptop for support. We bounced ideas back and forth for like an hour before Dean walked through the door. He was chowing down on candy even after that guy literally ate those razors.

"Really?" Sam asked voicing exactly what I was thinking. "After that guy chocked down all those razors?"

"It's Halloween, man." Dean said like that solved everything.

"Yeah, for us, everyday is Halloween," Sam commented.

"Don't be a downer," Dean said still chewing on a piece of candy before sitting down on the arm of the couch. "Anything interesting?"

"Well, we're on a witch-hunt, that's for sure, but this...isn't your typical hex bag."

"No?" Dean still was eating candy. If he doesn't slow down he will have a stomachache later on.

"Goldthread," I said as Sam picked up the gnarled herb, "An herb that's been conveniently extinct for about 200 years."

"And this is Celtic," Sam held up the coin. "And I don't mean some New-Age knockoff. It looks like the real deal, like 600-years-old real."

I looked over at Dean and my eyes widened when I saw he was sniffing the charred bone. "Dean, you do realize that is the charred metacarpal bone of a newborn baby, right?" I asked.

"Aw, gross!" Dean's face contorted into disgust as he tossed it back on the table.

"Relax, man." Sam said coming to the rescue. "It's at least a hundred years old."

"Oh, right, like that makes it better. Witches, man so frigging skeevy."

"Maybe," I commented. "But it takes a lot of power to put this bag together so it can't be your every day run of the mill witch."

"More juice than we've ever dealt with before," Sam replied. "Find anything on the victim?"

"This Luke Wallace, he was so vanilla, that he made vanilla seem spicy," Dean reported. Sam scoffed and I rolled my eyes at the assessment. "I can't find any reason why somebody would want this guy dead."

"Okay, so witches, maybe it's not about liking or not liking someone. I mean, witches are real big with rituals right?"

Sam nodded his head absently while Dean stared at me curiously. Suddenly Sam's phone started ringing causing everyone to break their focus. Both Dean and I gazed at Sam waiting to hear about the call. I watched as he shook his head and hung up.

"There's another body. Girl drowned herself bobbing for apples."

"Let's go," Dean said before he grabbed his suit and went to change.

"You wanna put the mic on?" Sam asked looking at me before standing up and walking over to his clothes.

"Not until I find some other way to blend in," I scoffed thinking about the tight fitting space in the impala. I watched as Dean exited the bathroom and Sam went in there. Leaving Dean and me in a medium between awkward and comfortable silence.

It got me thinking about everything that has been going on lately. The angels, Sam drinking demon blood, me and Dean, Pamela...maybe if I told him what I had been researching when I was gone it would help to clear the air.

"Dean," I said softly watching him as he raised his head and looked at me. "There's something I have to tell you-"

I didn't get a chance to finish when Sam walked out of the bathroom all changed. He glanced between us for a moment before throwing his clothes into his duffel bag. The conversation I wanted to start was lost as the two walked out the door and into the night.

* * *

I was flipping through some books on the origin of Halloween when a creepy feeling drifted into the room. I sat up and closed the book glancing around the room. Shivers went down my spine as the minutes ticked by. I stood up and walked forward before I was standing in the middle of the room.

_How long do you think you can keep running for?_

I jumped and frantically looked around the room for the source of the voice. I jumped and swung around as the door to the motel room swung open. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was just Sam and Dean.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked catching the look on my face. I nodded trying to calm myself down.

"Looks like someone's catching the Halloween jitters," Dean commented.

"I hope so," I said quietly not expecting anyone to hear but by the look Sam was giving me I knew he had.

About a half an hour later Sam and I were lying on the beds flipping through Halloween lore books while Dean was online searching background info on the girl that had died tonight. Sam suddenly sat up, book in hand before Dean spoke up.

"I'm telling you, both of these vics are squeaky clean. There's no reason for wicked-bitch payback."

"Maybe because it's not about that." Sam commented absently.

"Wow, insightful," Dean retorted sarcastically. I rolled my eyes before chucking a pillow at Dean.

"Maybe this witch isn't working a grudge," Sam said quickly before I could throw anything else. "Maybe they're working a spell. Check this out: _Three blood sacrifices over three days. The last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest._" Sam recited before setting the book down in front of Dean.

I slowly got up off the bed thinking about what Sam had said. "October 31st is the day of the final harvest," I said walking toward the table.

"Halloween," Dean stated.

"Exactly," Sam answered.

"What exactly are these blood sacrifices for?"

"Well, if I'm right, this witch is summoning a demon. And not just any demon. Samhain."

"You have got to be kidding me?" I scoffed causing Dean to look at me.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he asked.

"Samhain is the freaking damned origin of Halloween. He is the reason the tradition was started." I stopped and turned to Sam for help.

"The Celts believed that October 31st was the one night when the veil was thinnest between the living and the dead. It was Samhain's night. Masks were put on to hid from him, sweets left on doorsteps to appease him, faces carved into pumpkins to worship him. He was exorcised centuries ago."

"Samhain took a trip downstairs and the traditions stuck."

"Exactly. Only now, instead of demons and blood orgies..."

"It's kids in costumes running around screaming for candy," I finished for Sam. Dean glanced between us before speaking up.

"Okay, so some witch want to release Samhain and take back the night?"

"Dean this is serious," Sam retorted.

"I am serious."

"We're talking heavyweight witchcraft. This ritual can only be performed every 600 years."

"And the 600 years rolls around-"

"Tomorrow night?" I asked. Sam nodded his head.

"Naturally." Dean replied sarcastically. "Sure is a lot of death for one demon."

"Yeah, probably because if Samhain raises, so does every other thing that goes bump in the night." I sighed.

"Claire's right. Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own."

"He raises things that go bump in the night but what exactly?" Dean asked.

"Dark, evil crap, and lots of it. They follow him around like the freaking pied piper."

"We're talking ghosts?"

"Among demons and zombies and ghouls, I mean the list goes on." I commented looking at the pictures in the book.

"Leprechauns?"

"Dean."

"Those little dudes are scary! Small hands," Dean defended himself.

"Look," Sam said a dark look crossing his face. "It just starts with ghosts and ghouls. This sucker keeps on going. By night's end, we're talking every awful thing we've ever seen. Everything we fight all in one place."

"It's gonna be a slaughterhouse." I shook my head as the gravity of the situation set in. It was going to be a bloodbath if we don't stop the witch. Sam nodded his head a grave look on his face.

"Okay well, there's nothing we can do tonight. So let's all get some sleep and we'll deal with it tomorrow." I said standing up again and closing the book. "Besides we're all useless if we're tired. I get one bed and you two can duke it out over who gets the other one."

I laughed as both Sam and Dean launched out of their chairs and raced toward the empty bed. The wrestled for a minute before Dean won. I smiled as Sam mumbled something before situating himself on the couch. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

* * *

The next day Dean set out to stake out the first victims house leaving Sam and me here all morning.

"Hey Sam, what happened to all that candy we had?" I called out. I searched through the bag again and again but there wasn't any freaking candy and I wanted a freaking Reese Peanut Butter Cup.

"It was in that duffel bag."

"Yeah I know but it's not-" I cut myself off. "Dean stole my freaking candy!"

I heard Sam laughing from inside the bathroom. I walked over to the nightstand between the beds and grabbed Sam's cell phone and dialed Dean's number, as my phone was currently charging.

"_Hey._"

"You stole my freaking candy you jerk!" I shouted at the phone.

"_It wasn't_ your_ candy it was _our_ candy. It was fair game._"

"So you ate it _all_?" I hissed. Sam yanked the phone away from me before I could say anything else.

"How's it going?" Sam asked into the phone. "Dean, someone planted those hex bags, someone with access to both houses. There's gotta be some connection." Sam paused and listened to Dean. "Quit whining."

Sam hung up the phone and looked at me. I was still angry and I'm pretty sure it was written all over my face. He laughed before laying down on the bed and started flipping through the books again before he grabbed his computer and started typing something.

"That's all you're gonna do is laugh? I'm gonna kick his ass for eating all the candy."

"We'll stop by the store and get some more."

"It's just not the same, Sam. I just wanted one freaking Reese."

"So we'll stop and-"

"It's just not the same," I sighed dramatically before flopping down on the bed. I could practically hear Sam roll his eyes before he tossed a book onto my bed.

"Help me find something, anything that would help us with our Samhain problem."

About 15 minutes later Dean came walking into the room tossing down the motel keys. I slammed the book shut as Sam spoke up.

"So? Our apple-bobbing cheerleader?"

"Tracy, the Wallace's babysitter. She told me she'd never even heard of Luke Wallace."

"Interesting look for a centuries old witch."

"Yeah, if you were a 600 year old hag and you could pick any costume to come back in, wouldn't you go for a hot cheerleader? I would. Mm." Dean said a faraway look in his eyes.

I shook my head in disgust not even trying to fathom what was going on in that wee little head of his. I knew Sam was thinking along the same lines as me just by the look he was giving Dean. I wanted to walk over there and hit him with something but restrained myself as Sam spoke up.

"Well, Tracy's not as wholesome as she looks. Did some digging. Apparently, she got into a violent altercation with one of her teachers. Got suspended from school."

"With a Mr. Don Harding?" I asked looking at the screen of Sam's laptop.

"Yeah, Dean and I will check that out and you stay here and keep researching Samhain."

"Oh come on! It's freaking Halloween and your making me sit here and research Samhain?"

Sam didn't respond as he quickly grabbed his clothes and changed before both he and Dean left. I let out a grunt of frustration before throwing myself onto the bed and opening the book.

_Where are you Claire?_

I jumped looking around the room for any signs of a person. I swear to God it's like the voice is right in the room. I got up and walked to the bathroom before leaning against the sink. I turned on the faucet to cold before cupping my hands and throwing water in my face.

I grabbed the towel and dried off my face. I brought the towel away from my face and looked back at the mirror. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Alex standing behind me. I quickly turned around only to find that there was no one there. No Alex.

I jumped again as I heard my phone vibrate against the table. I threw the towel done and walked over to where my phone was ringing and saw that it was Sam who was calling.

"What's up?" I asked trying to steady my breathing.

"_I need you to find as much as you can on Tracy. Find out where she came from, everything. We're gonna go see if we can find her_."

"She's the witch?"

"_Pretty sure. We'll be back soon._" He hung up. Well at least I was going to be doing something that was actually worth it. I had been through that book twice already and it was nice to be doing something else.

After a half an hour I found everything on Tracy, her emancipation records, her foster home records, everything. After a while I started getting thirsty so I got up and checked to see if we had ice. Nope. Why was I always the one to get ice? In my experience, me and going to get ice did not mix well. I grabbed the bucket and dumped out the water before walking out of the room.

"Sorry!" I apologized as I bumped right into a random guy. He was older with near shoulder length hair. He smiled in return before continuing on. I turned the corner and found the ice machine, it took a minute to fill the bucket before I made my way back to the room.

As soon as I reached the room I put some of the ice into a plastic cup and then filled it with water from the tap before making my way over to my bed. As soon as the water made its way past my lips there was a burning sensation in my throat. I shrugged it off and started drinking more water.

I stopped before I went into a coughing fit and the most excruciating pain ripped through my stomach. It felt like needles were being jabbed into my stomach. I slipped off the bed still coughing and after a few moments my violent coughing was turning into blood. I couldn't stop myself from coughing and the pain in my stomach kept getting worse, soon there was a pool of my blood on the floor.

I looked closely at my blood before sticking my fingers down and pulling out a shiny blood covered sewing needle. Had I coughed that out? I looked a little closer and noticed there was more than just one sewing needle in the pool of blood. My hand went immediately to my throat as I coughed up more and more blood. My vision was growing dark before I heard the flapping of wings.

I felt something touch my forehead before I was greedily sucking air into my lungs. I sat up quickly before I noticed I wasn't alone. Kneeling down beside me was Castiel and he was gazing at me as though he were examining me. I quickly scrambled to my feet ignoring the blood on my clothes and that on the floor, my eyes locking on a second figure in the room. A tall African-American man stood at the window gazing out.

"You should have let the abomination die, Castiel," the man's deep gravelly voice echoed through the room. I felt the anger course through me. What right did he have to call_ me_ an abomination?

"You know our orders." Castiel replied back absently before his gaze was once again on me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded looking between the two. Orders? That must mean he's an angel too. Castiel walked toward the wall that had the picture hanging on it, quickly pulled the picture away from the wall, and pulled the hex bag from the wall. Well that's fantastic, I was going to be the last blood sacrifice.

Castiel sat down on the bed pretty much dismissing me. I rolled my eyes before walking over to the sink and looking in the mirror. Looking back at me was me; the front of my shirt soaked in blood as well as blood around my mouth from where I was coughing it up. As soon as I was done cleaning my face off the motel door opened.

* * *

**OKay, I know I'm getting this out like a month laterthan I wanted but bare with me! Anywho here is a little Halloween for ya'll who miss it already. There's still another halloween chapter due out very soon! So thanks for reading and leaving reviews you guys are the bomb! Remember I LOVE hearing from the readers! **

******Hey guys! I'm trying to start a story for _The Expendables_...and to be quite frank I reallly wanna write one but I'm gonna need some help...I have an idea and such but I would like someone-anyone to maybe beta it or hell, help me write it, like a collaboration or something. Anywho if you're interested give me a shout at my email or PM me**** 12-8-10**


	8. I Do Care

_**Chapter 8 – I Do Care**_

_Looking back at me was me; the front of my shirt soaked in blood as well as blood around my mouth from where I was coughing it up. As soon as I was done cleaning my face off the motel door opened._

"Who are you?" I heard Sam yell I walked out to see his gun raised.

"Sam. Sam, wait!" Dean shouted quickly before pushing Sam's gun down. "That's Castiel. The Angel. Him, I don't know." Dean said catching sight of the other angel, whose name I still didn't know.

"Claire?" Sam yelled out. I could see the panic in his eyes when he caught sight of the blood on the floor. I walked into Sam's line of vision with news clothes on.

"I'm okay," I said quickly before Dean rushed over to me. He quickly scanned over me before pulling me into a hug but quickly letting me go. A small smile crept onto my face before I quickly got rid of it.

"Hello, Sam." Castiel's voice broke through our moment.

"Oh my God. Or uh...I didn't mean too—Sorry. It's an honor! I've heard a lot about you." Sam stumbled over his words. I smirked as he did so knowing this was a true moment for him. He stuck out his hand for Castiel to shake only to get a confused look before Castiel took Sam's hand.

"And I you. Sam Winchester, the boy with the demon blood." And there goes the moment. "Glad to hear you've ceased your extracurricular activities."

"Let's keep it that way," The angel by the window commented. I really wanted to sock that guy.

"Yeah, okay, Chuckles. Who's your friend?" Dean asked.

"The raising of Samhain, have you stopped it?" Castiel asked his gaze landing on me before going back to the guys.

"Why?" Dean asked glancing between me and Cas a weird look on his face.

"Dean, have you located the witch?"

"Yes, we've located the witch."

"And is the witch dead?" I looked at Cas confused as to why the angels were even concerned with Samhain.

"No but-"

"We know who it is." Dean cut Sam off.

"Apparently, the witch knows who you are too. This was inside the wall of your room," Cas said showing Sam and Dean the hex bag he had found.

"If we arrived any later, Claire would have been dead. If we hadn't found it, surely one or both of you would be dead. Do you know where the witch is now?"

Dean turned and gave Sam one of those brother telepathy looks before looking at Cas and answering, "We're working on it."

"That's unfortunate."

"What do you care?"

"The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals."

"So this is about your buddy, Lucifer?" Dean asked casually.

"Lucifer is no friend of ours," the angel by the window spoke up.

"It's just an expression," I defended Dean. "Doesn't mean anything."

"Lucifer cannot rise." Castiel continued. "Breaking of the seal must be prevented at all costs. You know this," Castiel said turning to me. Both Sam and Dean gave confused looks as to why Cas was directing it towards me.

"Okay, great. Now that you're here, tell us where the witch is. We'll gank her and everybody goes home." Dean answered.

"We are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful. She's cloaked even our methods."

"Okay, we already know who she is," Sam cut in. "So if we work together-"

"Enough of this." The other angel called out.

"Who are you and why should I care?" Dean asked angrily.

"This is Uriel," Cas sighed. "He's what you might call a specialist."

"What kind of specialist?" Dean asked. Both Cas and Uriel looked at each other as though they were talking. The high frequency noise ripped through my skull causing me to grunt in pain. I looked up at Uriel and noticed his eyes were glued to my form. Suddenly the noise got louder and it kept climbing. I gripped my head as I felt a pair of arms wrap around me as I lost my balance.

"Uriel, enough!" Castiel commanded causing Uriel to break his concentration and just like that the noise was gone. I glared at Uriel not fully understanding what just happened but what I did know was we had a mutual hatred of each other. I looked gratefully up at Dean who finally let go of me once he was sure I could stand.

"You, all three of you, need to leave this town immediately."

"Why?"

"Because we are about to destroy it."

"Are you kidding me! You can't do that!" I shouted at Castiel, my anger more towards Uriel though.

"That's your plan? You're gonna smite the whole frigging town!"

"We're out of time. This witch has to die. The seal must be saved."

"There are a thousand people here," Sam argued.

"One thousand two hundred fourteen."

"You know that and you still have the audacity to kill all of them?" I raised my voice taking a step forward.

"This isn't the first time I have...purified a city." Uriel said in a calm arrogant voice.

"I'll give you something to purify," I hissed going to take another step forward but could as Dean's arm snaked around my waist keeping me from going any further.

"Look, I understand, this is regrettable," Cas spoke up glancing between me and Uriel before his gaze landed on the guys.

"Regrettable?" Dean asked in an unbelieving tone.

"We have to hold the line," Cas continued as if Dean said nothing. "Too many seals have broken already."

"So you screw the pooch on some seals and now this town has to pay the price?"

"It's the lives of 1,000 against the lives of 6 billion," Cas argued. "There's a bigger picture here."

"Right," Dean retorted his grip on me loosening. "Because you're 'bigger picture' kind of guys."

"Lucifer cannot rise," Cas said stepping in front of Dean. "He does, and hell rises with him. Is that something you're willing to risk?"

"We'll stop this witch before she summons anyone," Sam butted in. "Your seal won't be broken and no one has to die."

"We're wasting our time with these mud monkeys," Uriel spoke up glaring at Sam and Dean.

"No one asked for your opinion," I snapped.

"You best keep your mouth shut you blasphemy."

"I'm sorry," Castiel's strained voice cut in. "But we have our orders."

"No. You can't do this!" Sam spoke up again as Cas turned his back to us. "You're angels. I mean, aren't you supposed to—You're supposed to show mercy!"

"Says who?" Uriel asked his glare going from me to Sam.

"We have no choice," Cas reiterated.

"Of course you have a choice," Dean cut in. "I mean, come on. What, you've never questioned a crap order, huh? Are you just a couple of hammers?"

"Look even if you can't understand it have faith," Cas replied. "The plan is just."

"How could you even say that?" Sam asked.

"Because it comes from heaven. That makes it just," Cas said turning back to face us.

"Well, it must be nice to be so sure of yourselves." Dean commented.

"Tell me something, Dean. When your father gave you an order didn't you obey?"

"Well sorry boys. Looks like the plans have changed."

"You think you can stop us?" Uriel asked as though it was a stupid question.

"No. But if you're gonna smite this whole town," Dean started walking towards Uriel. "Then you're gonna have to smite us with it because we are not leaving. You went through the trouble of busting me out of hell...I'd figure I'm worth something to the man upstairs. You wanna waste me. Go ahead. See how he digs that."

"I'm gonna drag you out of here myself."

"But you'll have to kill me. Then we're back to the same problem. I mean come on. You're gonna wipe out a town or one little witch?" Dean was trying to aggravate Uriel. "Sounds to me like you're compensating for something. We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop the summoning."

"Castiel!" Uriel exclaimed. "I will not let these-!"

"Enough!" Cas silenced Uriel. I smirked at the power the angel held. "I suggest you move quickly."

And then just like that both of them were gone. I groaned in frustration before looking back at the guys. On Dean's face there was a look of pure determination and on Sam's it looked like pain. I knew he was hurt, the angels aren't exactly the friendliest of...things.

I followed both guys out of the motel room closing the door behind me. As I stepped out into the glaring sun I caught a glimpse at Dean's newly decorated hood. It was covered with eggs. I held back my laugh when Sam gave me the look not to say anything.

"Who'd you piss off?" I asked glancing at the car again. Dean stood next to the driver's door where there were more eggs smeared. Dean put his hand on the car before turning to the empty parking lot.

"Astronaut!" Dean yelled. I looked at Sam who was shaking his head as he got into the car. I followed in suit as soon as I sat on the seat I heard the crunching of wrappers beneath me. I looked at the seat to find it covered in candy wrappers!

"DEAN!" I yelled as soon as he got in.

"What?" he yelled back. I pointed to the seat and he just rolled his eyes before they landed on the depressed looking Sam.

"What?" he asked again.

"Nothing." Sam said messing with the hex bag that nearly killed me. "I thought they'd be different."

"Who? The angels?"

"Yeah."

"I tried to tell you."

"I just...I mean, I thought they'd be righteous."

"Well, they are righteous. I mean, that's kind of the problem. There's nothing more dangerous than some A-hole who thinks he's on a holy mission." I softly chuckled at Dean's assessment of the angels.

"But, I mean, this is God and heaven? And this is what I've been praying to?" I felt bad for Sam.

"Look, man, I know you're into the whole God thing. You know, Jesus on a tortilla and stuff like that. Just because there's some bad apples doesn't mean the whole barrel's rotten. For all we know, God hates these jerks. Don't give up on this stuff, is all I'm saying. Babe Ruth was a dick, but baseball's still a beautiful game. You gonna figure out a way to find this witch or sit there fingering your bone?"

"You know how much heat it would take to char a bone like this?" Sam asked holding the metacarpal bone up.

"A lot," I answered.

"Yeah, more than a fire or some kitchen oven."

"Okay, Betty Crocker, what does that mean?" Dean asked.

"It means we make a stop."

Sam directed Dean to the local high school. As soon as Dean parked we were all out of the car and I followed the guys into the art room. Hanging on the ceiling were some pretty creepy masks, which sent chills down my spine. Sam went straight towards the teacher's desk while Dean examined the kiln.

"So Tracy used the kiln to char the bone. What's the big deal?" Dean asked lifting up the lid on one of the kilns.

"Dean that hex bag turned up in our room, not after we talk to Tracy." Sam explained.

"After we talked to the teacher," Dean finished.

"Wait so Tracy isn't our witch?" I asked as Sam grabbed a hammer and broke the padlock on one of the drawers. As soon as it opened Sam quickly stood up allowing me to get a good look at what was inside. There was a bowl and in it there were more metacarpal bones and even a mandible.

"My God. Those are all from children."

"And I'm guessing he's not saving them for the dog."

"Great. So we were going to kill the wrong person. Awesome so either of you know where this guy lives?" I asked shutting the drawer.

* * *

"This is it," Sam said checking then double checking the address before Dean parked the car. We all got up and then stealthily made our way around back so no one would see us break in. I made my way into the kitchen my gun raised when I saw light coming from underneath the door I was sure led to the basement.

I went down the stairs first. Horrified at what I saw: hanging from the ceiling was Tracy, bound and gagged and standing over her with a large butcher's knife was Don Harding, the teacher. Without hesitation I shot him three times in the back. Breathing hard I lowered my gun as Sam rushed to check if Don was dead and Dean went to Tracy and untied her.

I stayed put, not from the fact that I just shot a man but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about all this.

"Thank you. He was gonna kill me! Ugh that sick son of a bitch. I mean did you see what he was doing? Did you hear him?" Tracy said hysterically before her voice completely changed to a mocking tone. "How sloppy his incantation was? My brother always was a little dim."

She raised her hand and spoke some foreign language sending Sam and Dean flying back. I raised just in time to feel the power rush past me causing Tracy to grin.

"In the presence of another witch?" She asked.

"Not even close," I hissed. I felt the power pushing against me.

"That's too bad. Your form is weak but this was a surprising challenge." Tracy then spoke something else and I couldn't hold back the power anymore as it slammed into me sending me flying back landing right in the middle of Sam and Dean.

I groaned in pain clutching my stomach at the force of the blow. Sam and Dean were doing the same.

"He was gonna make me the final sacrifice. His idea. But now that honor goes to him. Our master's return? The spell-work's a two-man job, you understand? So for 600 years I had to deal with that pompous son of a bitch. Planning, preparing. Unbearable. The whole time I wanted to rip his face off." She dig the knife into the bullet holes and poured some of the blood into a goblet. "Then you get him with a gun. Uh, I love that."

She kept going on about Halloween and what it truly is. She finally stopped her ranting and started to finish th incantation her brother, I guess started. It felt like there was something holding me back from actually moving though it didn't really hurt anymore, but the guys were still grunting in pain.

Sam then leaned forward and covered his hand in Don's blood before smearing it on his face. I watched him in disgust.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked quietly.

"Just follow my lead," Sam responded before smearing blood on both side of Dean's face. "Claire, come here."

I complied before Sam smeared blood on my face. Oh that was not a feeling I ever wanted. Sam fell back and laid perfectly still so Dean and I followed his example. With the position I was in I ending up laying my head on Dean's stomach. I flinched as I heard the floor crap and the sound of air rushing past my ears.

_Yess...At last I am free!_

My eyes snapped open when I heard the words being hissed. I glanced at the guys and I could tell they didn't hear it. I looked over and saw the black cloud of demon smoke. A very powerful demon. After a few moments my head started to hurt like someone was pounding the inside of my head with a jackhammer.

I listened as Tracy talked with none other than Samhain. We had let another seal break. Damn it! I jumped when I heard another cracking sound and then a body hitting the ground which I'm guessing was Samhain snapping Tracy's neck. I felt Dean's hand nudge my arm in comfort. I quickly closed my eyes when I heard footsteps walking towards us.

I listened as Samhain stopped before continuing on and up the stairs. As soon as the door closed I sat up looking between Sam and Dean.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked still whispering.

"That was us letting another seal get broken," I replied before standing up.

"Halloween lore. People used to wear masks to hide from him." Sam said after me. "So I gave it a shot." My eyes widened as I looked at Sam.

"You gave it a shot?" Dean asked.

"Okay at this point I really don't care, I just need to get this blood off my face. When it's mine no big deal but someone else's I have every right to freak out."

Dean rolled his eyes before getting up and throwing a rag a me. I quickly wiped away the blood from my face as I followed the guys up the stairs as they wiped the blood off their faces.

"Where are we gonna find this mook?" Dean asked as we walked across the lawn to get to his car.

"Where would you go to raise all the dark forces of the night?" Sam asked.

"Cemetery," Dean and I said at the same time.

We all quickly got in before Dean pulled away from the curb and cautiously drove down the street.

"So this demon's pretty powerful," Sam said breaking the silence.

"Yeah."

"Might take more than the usual weapons."

"I'll go after him, then." I spoke up from the back. "With my uncanny ability to toss demons around like rag dolls, I should be fine."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Sam retorted harshly not even glancing back at me.

"Sam, no," Dean sighed. "You're not using your psychic whatever. And there's not way in hell, Claire you are going near Samhain."

"But-"

"Don't even think about it," Dean cut Sam off. "Ruby's knife is enough."

"Why?" Sam argued. I rolled my eyes. Here we go again, typical Winchester move: get riled up right before we throw ourselves into danger. Yeah that won't get us killed or anything.

"Because the angels said so, for one."

"I thought you said they were a bunch of fanatics."

"They happen to be right about this one," Dean replied calmly.

"I don't know, Dean they don't seem right about much."

"You know what, Forget the angels. You said yourself, these powers- It's like playing with fire." Dean held Ruby's knife out for Sam to take. "Please."

"Sam, just take the knife," I commented softly as Sam stared down at it. He rolled his eyes before taking the knife and glaring out at the road in front of us. I scoffed and shook my head before turning and looking out at the passing scenery.

"I mean it Claire," Dean spoke up. "Don't go after Samhain alone." I didn't respond. "Claire?"

"I won't," I sighed. If I had the right opportunity I would go after Samhain whether Dean wanted me to or not, I mean he didn't care about my well being. He just cared if Sam used his powers or not.

Once we reached the cemetery we immediately headed towards the mausoleum. Once we were through the door I heard screaming. Once we hit the bottom of the stairs Sam and Dean headed straight for the gate that had locked some teenagers in with some very hungry zombies while I turned to the left and started checking the other gated areas.

"Claire!" I heard my name being called out but I ignored it and kept going.

Soon enough I reached a dead end with a room and standing in that room was none other than Samhain. I raised my hand in the demons direction before jerking my hand to the right. I watched in horror as he only stumbled before turning to look at me.

"Weakling," he commented before slightly raising his own hand sending me crashing into the nearby _marble_ wall.

Once I hit the floor I moved to get up only to feel my body being lifted before I hit another wall. My breathing was heavy as I laid on the floor pain wracking my body. I groaned and closed my eyes when I saw a bright white light emit from Samhain's hand and I couldn't believe I was gonna die like this.

"Yeah, that demon-ray-gun stuff? Doesn't work on me," Sam's voice rung out. My eyes snapped open and I watched just in time to see Sam land one into the demon's jaw before hitting him again and again. The demon then got a shot and didn't waste any punches to Sam's face.

I moved to get up but immediately dropped to the ground as a shooting pain rocketed through my shoulder. I watched as Sam was thrown up against the wall, Samhain had his hand clamped around Sam's throat. I moved my good arm up and tried to use my power.

Samhain turned to me his hand out before he tossed me into yet another marble wall. I cried out in agony as another tremor of pain shot through my shoulder. I then heard the familiar sound of Ruby's knife clattering to the floor. I pulled myself slowly towards the entrance to the room where the knife had landed.

Just as I picked up the knife with my good hand, Sam held his hand up halting Samhain in his tracks. I watched, a cross between horror and amazement on my face a some smoke can out of the bullet holes. I saw that Sam was struggling and I could tell from his eyes and the expression on his face he was in pain.

_This boy won't be able to do it. It will not end like this._

My eyes snapped to Samhain when I heard the voice in my head. I looked back at Sam to see him looking back down the hallway. I looked behind and saw that Dean was standing there a horrified and alarmed look on his face. His eyes locked on mine as I listened to Sam and Samhain struggle.

My eyes snapped back to Sam and the demon when I heard the familiar screams that were usually associated with demon smoke. Sure enough smoke was pouring from the body and into the floor scorching it as Samhain made his descent back to hell.

I laid back on the floor and groaned in pain my good hand immediately going up to my shoulder where the pain was radiating from. I heard footsteps near me and I felt arms wrap around my waist and hauled me up. I yelled out in pain at the sudden movement to my, more than likely, dislocated shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, shh," Dean kept his arm around me before leading me out of the room and back towards the steps that led out of the mausoleum.

"Ahh, Dean just pop it back in," I moaned collapsing on the stairs. Dean looked reluctant at my arm before looking back up at me. I just nodded before pulling the hood of my jacket around and stuck the thick fabric in my mouth to bite down on.

I braced my self when I felt Dean gently put his hand on my shoulder. Just the light touch sent pain shooting down my arm causing the tears to finally fall. Without warning a loud crack and a burning pain ripped through my shoulder causing more tears to fall and for me to cry out.

I started shaking before I felt Dean's arms wrap around me. I listened as soothing words flowed out of his mouth trying to calm me down. I could still feel myself shaking from the pain as I sat in Dean's embrace. I glanced over his shoulder and saw Sam standing there with a miserable look on his face, watching the last tears fall down my face.

I felt drained as Dean helped me up and out of the mausoleum. Once we were back at the car I got in the back and resting my head on the back of the sleep quickly fell asleep. A little while later I felt someone picking me up and carrying me before gently setting me down on the bed. I felt his fingers pushing some of the hair out of my face before I was once again out cold.

* * *

I opened my eyes before I went to roll over but gasped in pain and stopped. I quickly sat up and tried moving my sore arm, I felt the bed dip next to me and I turned slightly to see Dean sitting there with an icepack ready. I gratefully took it before delicately placed it against my bruising shoulder.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked not waiting for an answer before standing up.

"Dean," I stopped him. "I know I said I wasn't going to go after Samhain and I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter, you aren't the only one who didn't listen," Dean said a tired look on his face.

"I-" I stopped myself before I made things any worse. "Thanks for fixing me up last night. I know things between us haven't exactly been great but thanks for at least acting like you cared last night."

"You think I don't care?" Dean asked turning back around quickly to look at me. "I care about you just as much as I do about Sam. Seeing you laying on the floor in pain, hurt just as much as Sam betraying my trust. Don't think for one second I don't care."

I watched frozen as he turned grabbed his coat and walked out of the motel room. Right after Dean walked out Sam walked in, but stopped seeing me standing there.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked when I heard the familiar sound of the impala starting up.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," I stated quietly still holding the icepack to my shoulder and walked outside.

I wasn't sure where I was gonna go but I just had to walk. Clear my head get some facts straight before I could face either Winchester. With the way Dean had been acting only thought that he didn't care. Especially with how he addressed my powers that one night.

"Your doubts are pointless," the familiar gravelly voice spoke from beside me.

"What do you want this time?" I asked pulling the icepack away from my shoulder before moving it a little.

"He is beating himself up over what happened."

"Is that why you came? To talk about how Dean's feeling? Well you can just shove it and go away," I growled before continuing my walk.

"Another seal is broken." Cas said walking along side me with little effort. "What do you think will happen if Lucifer rises?"

"I don't know and to be honest I really don't care, Cas." I answered shaking my head.

"We are working to make sure it won't happen, but if the off chance that it does, Lucifer will surely come after you."

I stopped short turning sharply to face the angel. I felt different emotions rushing through me. Anger. Fear. Confusion. Things were so much easier when I was just the weird girl who could toss demons around and hear screams from hell. Now that I know what I am things have just become so much more...complicated.

"After your...race was created you were deemed creations of Lucifer. Angels just saw your kind as another way my brother could twist my father's creation. That is why your kind were condemned. We believed Lucifer convinced the Grigori to turn on God. And being one of the last of your kind, he is sure to find interest in you, specifically."

"What's happening to me?" I asked Cas. I glanced around at the houses and trees that surrounded us. "Why am I hearing voices in my head? What's happening to my powers?"

"It's what makes you so valuable...and dangerous." Castiel's deep gaze locked with mine. "They are keeping a close watch on you and Sam Winchester."

I blinked and in the flapping of wings he was gone. I gulped and took in a deep breath of air. I wish things would go back to the way they were before I got wrapped up in all of this angel demon hierarchy crap. I didn't want to hear demons I didn't want to have these damn powers, I just wanted my dad back. If there was anyone I could truly count on it was him.

* * *

**Whoo! I finally got it out, be proud of me dear readers! Anywho I would like to thank my beta, HistoryNerd for so kindly helping me out. I'm hoping I still have readers out there so if you're still out there leave a review please! A girl's gotta know if she should continue her story! Thanks!**


	9. Morbid Situations

_**Chapter 9 – Morbid Situations**_

_I was laying on the grass and staring up at the stars when the sound of approaching footsteps disrupted the peace and silence of the night. I didn't bother looking up at the person who had invaded my space._

"_Your dreams are strange," a gravely voice broke the silence. I quickly sat up and looked at the angel who had interrupted my dream._

"_Why are you here?" I asked standing up._

"_Why this particular place?" Cas asked looking around. I scoffed at his question._

"_It's the only place I feel like I'm not going to be judged for what I have to say." I ran my fingers over the smooth granite of my father's tombstone. "I always seem to end up here when I need to talk to him."_

"_You are in danger," Cas said his eyes still resting on my father's headstone. _

"_I'm sorry what?"_

"_Your...abilities have been made aware to Lilith."_

"_Which ability?" I asked cautiously._

"_Your awareness of what demons think. You can penetrate their thoughts. It makes you useful...and a liability."_

_I scoffed. "How'd she find out?" _

"_We're still working on it."_

"_Why does that not surprise me? You angels can't do anything."_

_Castiel's gaze landed on me after I said that. It was quiet...neither of us said anything and the silence was starting to make me nervous. _

"_Don't attract any attention to yourself." After he said that he disappeared. I rolled my eyes before turning to look down at my father's headstone._

"_That's the one I was telling you about," I commented before closing my eyes tightly._

I slowly opened them to find myself back in the motel room. I rubbed my eyes lazily before sitting up, the covers falling away from my body.

"Hey you hungry?" Sam spoke up from his position by the door. He was just putting on his jacket.

"Yeah, why not? Where's Dean?"

"Outside. We were gonna leave you here so you could sleep."

"Thanks, but I'm up so you guys think you can wait a few more minutes?" I asked standing up.

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell Dean," Sam replied quickly before walking out the door.

I quickly grabbed my duffel and went into the bathroom. I took the quickest shower of my life before changing.

"Finally!" Dean commented once I closed the door behind me. I rolled my eyes before brushing my fingers through my wet hair. We all got into the car before Dean pulled out of the parking lot and towards the nearest diner.

Once inside the diner we all ordered, which consisted of shots for Dean, a Dr. Pepper for me, and Coke for Sam. We ordered our food and ate. The table was quiet until Sam spoke up.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything from hell, Dean?"

"Sam, we've been through this," Dean groaned before downing another shot.

"Uriel said you remember."

"Well I don't okay?"

"It just doesn't make any sense, Dean. I mean, why would Uriel tell me you remembered hell when you didn't?"

"Maybe because he's a dick, might have something to do with it."

"Maybe but he's still an angel."

"Yeah, an angel who was ready to level an entire town," Dean replied keeping his voice low. "Look, I don't know wha-" Dean cut himself off when the waiter came back.

"Radical. What else can I get you guys?" The overly-excited male waiter asked.

"I think we're good," Sam answered. I took another drink of my soda to keep from laughing at the waiter.

"Yeah?" he asked. I nodded quickly.

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"Wanna try a couple of Fryer Bombs or a Chipotle Chili Chonga?" he asked grinning at Sam and Dean.

"No, no, we're still good," Dean replied.

"Okay, awesome." And with that said the waiter left. I softly laughed as Dean gave me and Sam the 'are-you-kidding-me' look. Sam sighed bringing us back to the conversation before.

"Sam, honestly, I have no idea why Uriel told you what he did, okay?" Dean said before downing his last shot.

"Right," Sam replied not convinced.

"Sam," I said softly hoping to stop the argument I saw coming.

"What?" Dean asked seeing the look Sam was giving him.

"Okay, fine. Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't remember a thing from your time down under."

Dean rolled his eyes before leaning froward and looking Sam straight in the eye and said, "I don't remember a thing from my time down under. I don't remember, Sam!"

"Dean, I just wanna help." I closed my eyes after listening to Dean blatantly lie to Sam.

"You know everything I do. That's all there is."

"Outstanding! Desert time? Am I right?" the waiter asked coming back to the table halting conversation again.

"Dude-" Dean started but was cut off by the waiter.

"Listen bros, and gorgeous lady, you have got to try our Ice Cream Extreme." I gawked at the guy who was trying his hardest to flirt. Who he was trying to flirt with I'm not too sure.

"It's extreme!"

"No extremities, please," Sam spoke up.

"Just the-"

"Check?" the waiter cut me off and pulled out the check. "Alright, awesome."

"So where do we go from here?" Dean asked after the waiter was gone.

"Not sure. Looks like it's been pretty quiet lately. No signs of demon activity, no omens or portents I can see."

"Good news for once," Dean commented.

"That's probably because Lilith is trying to keep things closed so she can break the seals." I said softly.

"Just the typical smattering of crank UFO sightings and one possible vengeful spirit. Here check this out. Up in Concrete, Washington, eyewitness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a women's health facility."

After Sam said that small bit of info, Dean nearly choked on the beer he was drinking. I watched as Dean's face lit up as Sam explained the ghost threw a woman down some stairs. Dean quickly closed Sam's laptop and threw some money down on the table.

"I can see you're very interested," I commented sourly.

"Women...showers...We gotta save these people," Dean answered dramatically before standing up.

"Awesome," I commented sarcastically before standing up as well. Sam gave me an apologetic look before we headed outside.

* * *

Once we reached Washington, Sam set up an interview with the woman who fell down the stairs saying he was writing a book about the Supernatural. Dean had dropped Sam off in front of Lucky Chin's food place before taking off to check out the showers at the Women's health facility.

I groaned in annoyance as Dean came to a quick stop in front of the house and nearly jumped out of the moving car. I slowly got out and caught up with Dean just as we entered the building. Or rouse was we were inspectors making sure the place was up to code.

"You do realize that there wont be any women actually in the showers right? They have to clear out when the department is checking around."

"But I thought-"

"We all know what you were thinking, Dean. Maybe next time," I commented before entering the women's showers and pulling out my EMF.

Between Dean and myself, there was nothing in the showers. No ghosts, nothing. The place was scary quiet. Dean and I split up, he stayed in the shower area and I went towards the locker rooms. As soon as I got in there I felt like I was being watched.

I froze when I heard footsteps behind me. I swung around only to come face to face with Dean. I let out a sigh before rolling my eyes.

"There's nothing." He said glancing around the locker rooms.

We made our way outside and sat down on the steps. I knew we had to wait for Sam, so I picked up a nearby newspaper and flipped through it a little before Dean grabbed it and started flipping through.

"Hey Dean," I asked quietly. "Back in Illinois. When I told you that you needed to let us in so we could help you...I meant it. Sam's gonna eventually find out. You're still Dean Winchester, not even Hell can change that. I know it's all overwhelming right now, but you have to trust Sam...you have to trust me."

There was pain written all over his face as I spoke. I knew that something traumatizing happened down in hell and I knew he remembered it. He just needs to open up and let us help him. He opened his mouth to say something but Sam's voice interrupted.

"Well, you pick up anything?"

"No EMF in the shower or anywhere else. This house is clean."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. I kind of got a feeling back there that crazy pushed Mrs. Armstrong down the stairs."

"I gotta tell you, I'm disappointed."

"You wanted to save naked women." Sam commented.

"Damn right, I wanted to save naked women."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at Dean's comment, trying to keep up with Sam and Dean's strides. I stopped next to them as some kids went blasting past us yelling at each other.

"Run, Forrest, run!" Dean shouted after them. I elbowed him.

"Sorry, Dean but I don't think there's anything going on here."

"Thank God, now can we please go?" I asked looking between the guys. I didn't get an answer because their focus was on a park ranger and a civilian yelling about something.

"Something's going on," Dean said before both guys walked towards the two arguing men.

"Okay, two arguing people doesn't mean it's something supernatural!" I called after the two.

I sighed before slowly following after them. I stopped a little ways away and leaned against the rail looking out towards the water, listening to everything that was being said. The guy thought he was being stalked by Bigfoot. After the guy told Sam and Dean where it happened, I pushed away from the rail and started in that direction knowing the guys would catch up.

Just as I hit the edge of the woods the guys caught up to me.

"What the hell's going on in this town?" Dean asked as we walked along the trail through the woods. "First there's a ghost that's not real and now a Bigfoot sighting?"

"Well, every hunter worth his salt knows Bigfoot's a hoax." Sam commented.

"Yeah, maybe somebody's pumping LSD into the town water supply."

"Now that's ridiculous," I commented on Dan's theory before coming to a halt. On the ground there were rather large foot imprints in the dirt.

"Okay, what do you suppose made that?" Dean asked.

"That is, uh, a big foot."

"Follow the big foot," I said before making my way past the guys.

After a mile of walking we came to a white metal bridge that ran over the small river and on the other side there was a house there. We made our way across the bridge covered in dirty foot prints before seeing the other side leading up to the house was print also.

The foot prints led up to a door that had been ripped off it's hinges. The guys stopped walking leaving me alone as I approached the door. I moved the heavy door to the side before stepping through and entering what appeared to be a little liquor store.

There were broken bottles on the floor. I stepped over and around the broken glass before hearing Dean.

"So what, Bigfoot breaks into a liquor store jonesing for some hooch?" Dean knelt down and looked at some of the broken bottles. "Amaretto and Irish cream. He's a girl-drink drunk."

I sent a glare at Dean before moving past them towards the food section.

"Hey, check this out," Sam said stopping at an empty magazine rack.

"He took the whole porno rack?" Dean asked.

"What?" I asked not quite comprehending what Dean had just said.

"Well, I'll say it again," Dean commented as Sam pulled what looked like hair from the magazine rack. "What the hell is going on in this town?"

I had grabbed the fur out of Sam's hand and the guys made their way outside. I rubbed it between my fingers as I made my way out. I saw the guys sitting on the bench trying to find some sort of explanation.

"I got nothing." Dean broke the silence.

"You know this is the kind of material they use to make teddy bears." I commented holding up the fur.

"It's got to be a joke, right?" Sam asked looking between me and Dean. "Some big-ass mother in a gorilla suit?"

"Or a really big teddy bear," I said.

"Or it's a Bigfoot," Dean threw in. "You know, and he's some kind of an alcoholo-porno addict. Kind of like a deep-woods Duchovny."

The guys' gaze was fixed on something behind me causing me to turn. There was a young girl, couldn't have been older than maybe nine. There was a yellow crate on the back of her bike. As she rode past me a magazine flew out of the basket.

I quickly put my foot down on the magazine so it wouldn't blow away. I bent over and picked it up, glancing at the cover. I scoffed and looked towards the direction the girl had rode off to. I felt the magazine leave my hands and turned to find Dean now had it.

"A little young for _Busty Asian Beauties_." Dean commented. We waited quietly as the young girl disappeared behind the liquor store before reappearing and taking the bridge across the river.

"Well you guys wanted weird and there it goes. Either we follow or we stand here scratching our heads." I spoke up. I started towards the Impala with the guys following close behind.

We had been driving around for a little while before Sam spotted the bike with the yellow basket laying in the front yard of a house. Dean pulled up to the curb before we all got out. After catching another glimpse of the bike we headed towards the front door.

"What is this, like a _Harry and the Hendersons _deal?" Dean asked. After reaching the door Dean briefly knocked and we waited for the door to open.

The same young girl from the liquor store opened the door with a quiet "Hello."

"Hello," Sam answered. "Um..." Sam turned to Dean and me for help. "Could we-?"

"Hey sweetie, are your parents home?" I asked gently before either Winchester could say anything stupid.

"Nope."

"No?" I looked back at the Winchesters who were confused on what to do next. I opened my mouth to say something but Dean beat me to it.

"Have you seen a really really furry-"

"Is he in trouble?" The young girl asked quickly. I was shocked she knew what were were talking about.

"No, no, no. Not at all. We just-"

"Wanted to make sure he was okay and back home." I finished for Sam who had been struggling to find the right words.

"Exactly." Dean commented.

"He's my teddy bear." She told us. Before she whispered, "I think he's sick."

"Wow. Uh..." No one knew what to say to that. I watched as a grin crossed Dean's face before he spoke up.

"Amazing, because you know what? Because we," Dean motioned to Sam and myself, "are, uh, ahem- Teddy bear doctors."

Sam and Dean held up their fake badges and luckily the girl was so enamored with what Dean had just said she didn't bother to see if I had a badge.

"Really? Can you please take a look at him?"

"Sure!"

Dean sighed in relief as we followed the young girl into the house. We followed her up the stairs before she started talking.

"He's in my bedroom. He's pretty grumpy." We stopped at the end of the hallway as she knocked. "Teddy? There's some nice doctors here to see you."

As the door opened I heard the tv on in the room talking about some tragedy in Ohio. My eyes widened when I saw there was a life size teddy bear drinking beer.

"Close the frigging door!" It shouted at the girl.

"See what I mean?" she asked. I looked up at the Winchesters who both were as surprised as I was.

I knelt down in front of the girl so she didn't have to look up at me as I talked.

"Sweetie, can you tell me why you have a very big talking teddy bear in your room?"

"All I ever wanted was a teddy which was big, real, and talked. But now he's sad all the time—Not 'ouch' sad but 'ouch in the head' sad...says weird stuff and smells like the bus." She explained glancing up at the guys before looking back at me.

"Um, little girl-" Dean started.

"Audrey." She answered.

"Audrey," Dean corrected himself. "How exactly did your teddy bear become real?"

"I wished for it."

"Wished for it?" Sam asked.

"At the wishing well," Audrey explained. Dean nodded before walking forward and opening the door to the room and stepping in.

"Look at this!" The teddy motioned to the TV with a beer bottle in his hand. "You believe this crap?"

"Not really." Dean answered.

"It's a terrible world." Teddy was preaching to the choir! He suddenly turned to Dean who flinched back. "WHY am I here!"

"For tea parties!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Tea parties? Ah-ha. Is that all there is?" The teddy started sobbing. Dean came out and shut the door a blank look on his face. I stood up next to Sam as she looked at us expectantly.

"Uh. Audrey, give us a second, okay?" Sam said sweetly.

"Okay," she answered nodding.

Dean Sam and I walked a little away from her. Before Sam spoke up.

"Are we-? Should we-? Uh-" Sam then whispered, "Are we gonna kill this teddy bear?"

"How, huh?" Dean whispered back. "We shoot it, burn it?"

"No," I answered loudly. "We can't do that," I whispered. "How would we know if that would work?"

"I don't want some giant, flaming, pissed-off teddy on our hands." Dean said agreed.

"Besides, I get the feeling that the bear really isn't the, you know, core problem here." Sam replied. "Audrey, Where are your parents?" Sam asked.

"My mom wished they were in Bali, so I think they're in Bali."

"Okay, I'm really sorry I have ti break this to you but your bear is sick. Yeah he's got..."

"Lollipop disease." Dean answered. It took all of my strength not to laugh. "It's not uncommon for a bear his size. But see, it's really contagious."

"Maybe there's a grownup you can go stay with until your bear gets better?" I asked.

"Mrs. Hurley lives down the street," Audrey answered.

"Perfect. We'd like you to stay there for a few days, okay?"

"Oh and Audrey," Dean spoke up. "Where is this wishing well?"

* * *

"Weren't you just here, Sam?" I asked as we walked into the Chinese restaurant.

"Yeah," he answered as we reached the fountain in the middle of the back wall. A young boy walked past us after throwing a coin into the water.

"You think it works?" Dean asked.

"You got a better explanation for teddy back there?"

"There's one way to find out," Dean said reaching into his pocket.

"What are you gonna wish for?"

"Shh."

"Dean no." I said stopping his arm from moving. "We have a suicidal teddy bear and now you wanna go throw a coin into the fountain."

"Only way we're gonna find out if it works." He answered.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," I told them as Dean tossed the coin into the water.

"You're not supposed to tell," Dean answered Sam's previous question.

"Somebody order a foot-long Italian with jalapeño?" A voice rang out. We all turned around and noticed the delivery guy holding up a sandwich.

"That'd be me," Dean answered looking at me and Sam. Dean paid for the sandwich before turning back and looking at us a grin on his face.

"You wished for a freaking sandwich?" I asked as we walked to a table.

"I was hungry."

"You're always hungry, Dean." I retorted as we sat down at the table. Next to our table was a couple who looked very much in love laughing and smiling at each other. A small smile crossed my face as I watched them. But the smile quickly left my face as Dean spoke up.`

"I think it works, dude. I was pretty specific."

"The teddy bear, the sandwich..." Sam trailed off.

"Hmm. I'm guessing this," Dean said pulling out the newspaper that announced the lotto winner from town.

"I'm guessing that," Sam said looking towards the couple I was watching a few moments ago.

"Oh that definitely goes on the list," Dean commented sizing up the woman. "What are we supposed to do? Stop people's wishes from coming true? Sounds like a douchey thing to do."

"Maybe but when has something like this ever come without a price tag?"

"Never. There's always some kind of twist behind it. A deadly one," I answered.

"Oh, I don't know, it's a damn good sandwich." Dean took another bite causing Sam to sigh. "All right, fine. We'll put a hold on the wishing until we figure out what's what."

"Gentlemen. Miss. I'm sorry. We don't allow people to eat outside food here," the owner said to us in a thick Chinese accent.

"Well, I am certainly not gonna eat the inside food here." Dean commented. I looked at Sam confused before both guys started digging through their pockets for their I.D.

"Health Department. You my friend have a rat infestation." The owner looked at the badge before Dean continued. "We have got to shut this place down under Emergency Hazard Code 56C."

I gave Dean the 'are-you-kidding-me' look as the Chinese owner exclaimed that there were no rats they ran a clean establishment. The man eventually caved and gently asked his patrons to leave but not before he gave Dean the death glare of the century.

The owner emptied out the fountain at Dean's request before we all thoroughly examined the fountain.

"It's a typical fountain, plaster Buddha. Nothing I can see."

"Yes, nothing. We keep a clean place here," the owner said standing right at Dean's side.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave during the preliminary investigation. Okay? Thank you." Sam said curtly causing the man to glare before leaving.

"You know. You two really have a way with people," I commented watching the owner leave. Sam scoffed before staring down at the fountain.

"Oh, come on, aren't either of you a little bit tempted?" Dean asked tossing a coin to Sam.

Sam smirked as he caught it. "No, wouldn't be real," he said as the smile faded. "Wouldn't trust it."

"I don't know, that bear seemed pretty real."

"Come on, if you could wish yourself back, before it all started. Think about it, you'd be some yuppie lawyer with a nice car, white picket fence." Dean etched out.

"Not what I'd wish for."

"Seriously?"

"It's too late to go back to our old lives, Dean. I mean, I'm not that guy anymore." He really wasn't. The Sam I knew a few years ago was different than the man who was standing in front of me.

"All right, well what then? Hmm? What would Sammy wish for?" Dean jibbed.

"Lilith's head on a plate. Bloody." Charming picture.

"I wouldn't worry about Lilith," I said quietly causing both heads to turn in my direction. "Being normal, not having to hear this ringing in my head. Not having to watch my own sister die. Just normal, maybe not white picket fence but something."

I looked up at the guys only to look back down again not wanting to see the pity in their eyes. I may not have been hunting for as long as they have but I sure as hell was feeling the strain from it all.

"What is that?" Dean asked looking down at the fountain. He reached down and brushed a few coins away leaving what looked like an ancient coin.

"Some kind of old coin. I don't recognize the markings." Sam replied leaning down next to Dean.

"Ahh. Damn," Dean hissed trying to pull the coin out off the fountain.

"Lift with your legs," Sam tried being funny.

"Gah! What, is that little mother welded on there?" Dean asked not being able to pull it off the bottom.

Both guys thinking the same thing immediately left and went straight for the car. I was left standing there looking at the coin. I reached down and tried to pull it out but Dean wasn't kidding when he asked if it was welded on there because it would not move.

Then both came back into the restaurant, Dan with a crowbar and a bag of tools, while Sam came in with a hammer. The owner was shocked and the sight and scurried after them. Dean then tried prying the coin out with the crowbar.

"Hey, hey, hey, what is this? You are gonna break my fountain!" The owner exclaimed.

"Now, sir, I don't wanna slap you with a 44/16, but I will. All right thanks," Sam said as the guy turned to leave.

"Let me see that," Dean motioned towards the hammer. "I've got an idea."

Dean then put the crowbar but the coin so if he hit the crowbar with the hammer it would surely push the coin up. As Dean brought the hammer down on one end of the crowbar the metal part of the hammer literally broke away from the wooden handle and went flying across the restaurant.

"Damn."

"The coin's magical?" I asked.

"Boy I'd say," Dean commented looking at the handle. Sam quickly pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil as Dean kept talking. "I think it's hoodoo that's protecting the well. I don't think we can destroy this."

"All right, here." Sam said handing me the paper with the coin's drawing. "You two gotta look into this."

"Where are you going?" I asked Sam who looked like he was in a hurry.

"Something just occurred to me." Sam quickly turned and walked towards the door causing Dean to look down at me before looking back at Sam's retreating form.

The owner looked at us expectantly before Dean smiled and I held up the paper Sam had shoved into my hands. Dean and I quickly made our way out of the restaurant and down the road.

"Did you really mean what you said back there? About the wish?" Dean asked. I sighed shoving my hands in my coat pocket. I knew this question was gonna come up sooner or later.

"Yeah. I do."

"Things have gotten pretty bad lately?"

"I killed my own sister, Dean. How can you justify something like that?" I asked stopping. Dean stopped a concern look on his face.

"When-"

"The night you died. We were outside. I saw the hellhounds coming. I could have stopped them but Alex-" I stopped closing my eyes.

_I slowly stood up when I heard growling nearby. I turned around and was met with the site of two blood thirsty hellhounds. I watched as one walked around me, through the holy water and into the house. I stood up quickly ignoring the pain in my leg._

"_DEAN!" I yelled making my way towards the house. Before I could reach the porch, the second hellhound jumped in front of me and growled menacingly. I put out my hand, and at first I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. But I didn't get to find out._

_Alex took the knife and buried it in my back; keeping a firm grip on it Alex lowered me to the ground. I couldn't move._

"Claire?" Dean asked softly. I realized he was closer to me than before.

"She stabbed me in the back, literally. I couldn't stop them because of her. I could hear you screaming and I couldn't do anything."

* * *

**HEy guys! Sorry about the wait! But I'm hoping with the new year updates will be faster! Thanks for waiting! You guys are the best!**


	10. Deep Wounds

_**Chapter 10 – Deep Wounds**_

_I could hear Dean's screams from inside the house; I could feel the tears rolling down my face. I could feel the blood pouring from my back, the holy water washing it off my body and onto the grass as I laid there on my stomach. I stood up painfully and limped towards Alex._

_She turned around and raised her hand throwing me back a few feet. As my body hit the ground I felt it giving out the pain was blurring my vision. My eyes were closing as the blood continued to pour out of all my wounds._

"_This is the perfect ending to one hellacious fight." She whispered in my ear as she stood over me. My grip tightened on the knife._

_"Not perfect," I whispered as I jabbed the knife up hitting her square in the chest. I twisted it around until she finally dropped down to the ground next to me. "Not perfect."_

"So I took the knife and returned the favor. I knew it was all I could do but-" I stopped. I felt Dean wrap his arms around me.

"It's all over. I'm here and you don't have to worry about Alex anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you," Dean whispered. I tightened my grip after he said that.

"I close my eyes and that's what I see Dean. I struggled for months. I realized something then: I'm always going to struggle with this life, no matter what I do."

I knew that by the look on his face he wanted to say something but he kept his mouth shut. Keeping his arm around my shoulders we continued to walk. As cheesy as it may sound it just felt right at the moment. Soon enough some kids ran past us with another boy chasing them: the boy from the restaurant.

The boy suddenly stopped and looked and Dean and me who were staring at them.

"Got a problem mister?" the boy asked looking at Dean.

"What? No." Dean replied. The boy gave another mean look before chasing after the other kids. We started to walk when Dean's stomach started growling. Dean stopped before putting a hand on his stomach.

"Please tell me that was not your stomach. You just ate a freaking sandwich." I commented as he grunted in pain. "Dean are you okay?"

"Not feeling too well." Dean commented before he quickened his pace to the motel.

As soon as we got back to the room, Dean went immediately to the bathroom and slammed the door shut where I heard him throwing up. I knocked as I heard him throw up some more.

"Dean are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," was the weak reply. I shook my head before sitting on the bed and grabbing Sam's laptop. I sat there with the sketch and tried finding everything I could with the little lead I had. And me being me found exactly what we were looking for.

I printed out the info as Dean came out of the bathroom wiping his mouth off with a towel. I handed him the papers before his stomach growled again and he dashed back into the bathroom. I shook my head, I knew the wish situation was a bad one and he didn't listen.

Just then Sam walked in, hearing Dean vomiting.

"Dean? You all right?"

"The wishes turn bad, Sam. The wishes turn very bad." Dean answered through the door.

"The sandwich, huh?

"He's been like that for a good half an hour." I spoke up causing Sam to look at me. "The coin's Babylonian. It's cursed."

"Claire found some fragments of the legend." Dean said coming out of the bathroom wiping his mouth with a towel. He gagged before ducking back into the bathroom but immediately came back out. "I'm good. The serpent is Tiamet."

"He's the Babylonian god of primordial chaos." I finished for Dean.

"I guess her priests were working some serious Black Magic."

"They made the coin?" Sam asked.

"To sow the seeds of chaos." I answered.

"Whoever tosses a coin into a wishing well, makes a wish, it turns on the well. Then it starts granting wishes to all comers."

"But the wishes get twisted. You ask for a talking teddy-"

"You get a bipolar nutjob." Dean finished for Sam.

"And you get ." I retorted. "This coin has thrown more than one town into chaos over the centuries."

"It's even wiped a few off the map," Dean added. "I mean, when one person gets their wish it's trouble. But everybody gets their wish-"

"It's chaos," Sam finished. "Any way to stop it?" he asked after a moment of silence.

Dean nodded his head. "One way."

"We gotta find the first wisher. Whoever dropped the coin in and made the wish they're the only ones who can pull it back out and reverse the wishes." I answered.

"So for now," Dean commented, "we've got, you know, a couple of nutso dreams come true, but once the word gets out about the well things are just gonna get crazier and crazier."

"Which means we gotta find the first wisher and fast," I spoke softly. I watched Dean as he nearly gagged again before he put his hands up saying he was 'all good'.

"You need to lay down for a while, Dean." Sam pipped up as he pulled open his laptop.

"Yeah, that actually sound pretty good." Dean went to the bed and flopped down.

I wasn't sure how long I had been watching Dean as he laid on his back. I could tell that in only a few short minutes he was out like a light. As I watched him I couldn't help but think about how things went down that night.

_Dean was laying in the middle of the room, the front of his body was ripped to pieces from the hellhound's claws. Sam was holding onto to Dean, tears making their way down his face. Ruby or the body Ruby was possessing was laying dead next to Dean._

_I felt the fresh tears falling down my cheeks just as Sam looked up at me. My vision started to blur again as I reached Sam. I wrapped my arms around him and was relieved when I felt him wrap his around me. I was getting weaker and I felt terrible when I saw the pained look on Sam's face as he pulled his hand off my back and looked at it._

_His hand was covered in blood. It felt weird as he gently laid me down a new set of tears falling from his eyes as he mumbled my name or at least it sounded like mumbling. I glanced over at Dean before I looked back at Sam, tears still in my eyes. I closed my eyes. _

When I opened my eyes again I turned back and faced towards Sam who was giving me a curious look. I tilted my head back in Dean's direction which caused Sam to look at his brother. Dean would twitch every now and then or gasp for air but he wouldn't wake up.

"There's something he's not telling us, Sam," I said quietly.

"I know," he sighed.

"He should know by now that he can trust us yet he still keeps us in the dark. He's no better than my father. He's no better than your father," I said angrily as I jolted up nearly knocking over the chair. I stalked my way to the door before leaving the room.

I didn't get very far from the room before I had to stop and lean against the wall as the tears fell. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the memories out of my head. It was like they were there to constantly torture me. I wanted nothing more than to help Dean with his problems but how could I do that if I'm still struggling with my problems?

I stiffened as a hand was placed gently on my shoulder. I wiped away the tears before turning around to face Sam. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest – looking back on it Sam and I had come a long way with our friendship – I don't think anything could break us.

As soon as the feelings started to subside I let go of Sam who, thankfully hadn't said anything the entire time. With his arm still around my shoulders he led me back to the motel room. Upon entering I noticed Dean was still twitching in his sleep, but I went straight to the chair next to where Sam had been sitting.

"Dean, wake up!" Sam shouted finally having enough of Dean's twitching.

"What? I'm up. What?" Dean said as he quickly sat up almost like he hadn't even been sleeping. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"You sleep well?" Sam asked mockingly. I elbowed him before Dean reached down and picked up a bottle of liquor he had resting next to the bed.

"Tanned, rested, and ready." I rolled my eyes.

"Dean, come on, man. You think we can't see it?" Sam asked.

"See what?" Dean asked turning to look at us.

"The nightmare, the drinking. We're with you 24/7. We know something's going on."

"Sam, please." Dean begged not wanting to fight. Right then Dean revealed how much this was truly weighing on him.

"Uriel wasn't lying, but you are." Sam continued. "You remember hell, don't you?"

"What do you want from me? What?"

"We just want the truth, Dean. That's it." I struggled to keep my voice even. "I'm your friend and Sam's your brother, we just wish you would to talk to us."

"Careful what you wish for." Dean replied a smirk on his face.

"Cute." Sam replied annoyed.

"Come on can we stow the couple's therapy? We're on a job. I wanna work. What do you got? Please?"

Sam sighed, "We got teddy bear, lottery guy, invisible pervert guy. They all must have wished sometime in the last two weeks. But who wished first? And how are we supposed to know who else wished for what, when?"

"Well, it helps when they announce it in the paper," Dean commented a smirk on his face. He threw the paper down in front of Sam and myself before pointing to a wedding announcement. "Goes back a month."

"'Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement.'" Sam read.

"Ah. True love," Dean replied sarcastically.

"Best lead we got."

"And lookie here, their building's address is proudly displayed in the picture. Don't you just love newspapers?" I asked sarcastically as I stood up grabbing my coat.

* * *

"Hi, Ms. Casey?" I asked as soon as the pretty brunette opened the door.

"Yes?" She asked happily.

"We're...the florist, for the wedding. Your fiancé called us so we could go over the plans," I said quickly hoping not to screw up the lie.

"Oh my gosh! Come in, please I have tons of plans," She rattled off letting us in. "Wes, you didn't tell me that you called the florists for the wedding."

"Huh?" Wes asked confused.

"Oh. You're the best. Mm!" She happily sighed before kissing him on the forehead.

"Wesley," Dean said as soon as Hope left the room. "How's it going?"

"It's Wes-ss," Wesley stopped as both guys stepped forward dauntingly. "Aren't you guys from the health department?"

"Yeah," Sam answered. "And florists on the side."

"Plus FBI," Dean added.

"Oh don't forget Homeland Security," I threw in.

"And on Thursdays, we're teddy-bear doctors," Dean finished sarcastically. Wes made a confused noise. "Doesn't matter who we are. What matters is what we know."

"So a coin collector, huh, Wes?" Sam asked noticing the coins neatly framed on the wall behind Wes' chair.

"Oh, yeah. My grandfather gave them to me."

"Did you lose one of those coins lately? And by 'lose' I mean drop into a wishing well at Lucky Chin's and make a wish on it?" Dean asked getting straight to the point.

"No, I- I don't know about what you're talking about."

"Okay, now." Hope said walking back into the room with folders of ideas. "I have lots of ideas. But, you know, we don't have all the money in the world. Wes is between jobs right now which means more time for me. You know I'm thinking a Japanesey-ikebana kind of thing."

"Yes. I can see it!" Dean said immediately. Sam agreed.

"You know, if you think about it that theme is really over played you should try something more original lik-" I was cut off by Dean pinching my arm. "I mean, no it's a great idea." I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as I rubbed my arm.

"So Hope, tell us how you two lovebirds met?"

"Oh, best day of my life!"

"I bet." Dean commented.

"Yeah. It's the funniest thing. We both grew up here but I never really knew who he was. Not by name anyways! Oh. Until one day last month, it was like I just- I saw him for the first time. He was just glowing."

She started touching his face and fawning over him and it was actually really unnaturally unhealthy. Wes finally asked her to get us some coffee and she quickly agreed to it. But not without practically shoving her tongue down his throat as they kissed.

"Wes, we know. So tell us the truth." Sam said. Wes went into this big story about how his grandfather found the coin in Africa during WWII and how he was warned not to use it. But of course Wes didn't listen and used it.

"Well now you're gonna march yourself over to Lucky Chin's and wish it back," I replied annoyed. Wes thought I was kidding until he caught the looks on Dean and Sam's faces.

"Oh, ha ha. No, I'm not."

"If you don't stop it something bad's gonna happen," Dean commented.

"Something bad, like us." Sam added. Dean then casually pulled his gun out of his jacket and held it so Wes could see it, but Hope couldn't from the kitchen.

"We really wish you'd come with us." Nothing like a little bit of leverage. Wes quickly complied and told Hope he was going to go for a drive to discuss wedding plans. Hope seemed to accept this as we left.

As soon as we were out in the car it started raining and Wesley started complaining.

"I don't get it. So my wish came true. Why does that have to be a bad thing?"

"Because the wishes go south, Wes. Your town in going insane." Sam replied.

"You're gonna tell me your relationship with Hope is functional?" Dean asked. "That it's what you wished for?"

"I wished she would love me more than anything," Wes threw back sitting up.

"Yeah? And how's that working out for you? That seem healthy to you?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than when she didn't know I was alive."

"You're not supposed to get what you want, Wes. Well at least not this way." I spoke up for the first time since this conversation started.

"Nobody is," Dean added. "That's what this coin does. It takes your heart's desires and it twists it back on you. You know the whole 'be careful what you wish for'?"

Right after Dean said that the car bounced as though we had just ran over something. I looked behind us confused at seeing there was nothing in the road.

"Did we just hit something?" Sam and I asked at the same time.

"I didn't see anything."

"'Be careful what you wish for.'" Wes mocked Dean. "You know who says that? Good-looking jerks like you guys. The ones who got it so easy because you happen to be handsome."

"Easy?" The guys asked in unison. I snorted at the can of worms Wes just opened.

"Yeah. Women look at you right? They notice you. I mean right here you have this beautiful woman riding in the backseat of your car." Wes said motioning to me.

"Believe us, we do not have it easy."

"We are miserable," Dean added onto Sam's statement.

"We never ever get what we want." I commented. "No matter what we do or how hard we try, we are still bounced back to square one."

"We fight tooth and nail just to keep whatever it is we got," Dean said.

"But maybe that's the whole point, Wes."

"People are people because they are miserable bastards. Cause they never get what they really want."

"Right. You get what you want, you get crazy."

I glanced over at Wes who had sat back and was slumped down almost like he was ignoring what the guys were saying, sees as how they were repeating themselves. But I knew Wes was listening because of the look on his face, like he knew what he had to do, with or without the Winchester's pushing. But I knew he was gonna defend his wish until the very last moment.

"Just take a look at Michael Jackson, hmm? Or Hasselhoff." Dean commented. I wanted to slap him for that.

"You know what? Hope loves me now, completely. And it's awesome. Besides, look around. Where's all this insanity you guys are talking about?"

Wes got his answer when Dean came to a stop at the stop sign. Across the street there was a boy who couldn't have been older than eight, literally pick up a car filled with screaming boys. I mean this kid just put his hand under the car and lifted it so it was only on two wheels.

"I bet that answers you question," I commented. Just then the kid pushed the car causing it to fall no it's side with those kids still in it.

"Kneel before Todd! Kneel before Todd!" The kid was screaming at the sky.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I raised my voice before unbuckling my seatbelt and jumping out of the car. I hear Dean get out right behind me. I watched as the kid started shaking the car the boys inside screaming for help.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!" I yelled at the boy as I ran over.

"Get out of my way." Todd threatened.

"Or what?" I snapped back.

"Whoa!" Dean said jogging over putting a hand over my mouth. "We can dig it, Todd. It's Todd, right? Look I know the score, okay? They're bullying you."

"Every day! Every day! You do not know what it's like!" Todd yelled. Dean let go of me as he bent over to Todd's level.

"No,no, I don't. But you know, you're you and I'm me, so..."

"I couldn't stop them. I couldn't do anything," Todd's voice softened. "Then Audrey Elmer told me the wishing well worked."

"Look I know they are little jerks, but they're not superhuman like you." Dean continued.

"You could really hurt them Todd. I know they've made fun of you but do you really wanna hurt them?" I added.

"Yeah because with 'great power comes great respons-" Dean didn't get to finish as Todd threw a punch sending Dean flying back into a pile of trash.

I noticed Dean wasn't getting up. I turned back to Todd who had his hands on my shirt. He picked me up and threw me out into the middle of the street. I felt the pain reverberate through my body as I hit the hard pavement. I struggled to get up in case there were any cars coming. As soon as I stood up I heard a car horn honking and the sound of tires squealing, before my body was being slammed into the windshield of a car. I felt my body tumble down the hood and as soon as I hit the pavement again the world disappeared.

* * *

My eyes snapped open to find Dean hovering over me a concerned look on his face. I quickly closed them before placing my hand on my forehead. I sat up, with the help of Dean, when I noticed the car sitting right next to me.

"My head hurts," I commented.

Dean scoffed, "Usually that's what happens when you get hit by a car. Come on."

Dean wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me off the ground. I look over at the car and noticed the huge dent in the windshield and hood but there was not a drop of blood anywhere. Dean helped me back across the street before letting go of me.

"It's over, Wes took the coin out. Sam has it."

"You can't blame him though. Wes. He didn't know what he was doing and he just really loved her. I know we can't always get what we want but why do we have to be so miserable? Why to we have to fight to keep what we have?" I asked looking up at Dean as we walked towards Lucky Chin's.

"That's just our life."

* * *

The next day Sam took off to get the coin melted while Dean and I headed to the pier. Over the night I had gained a few bruises from getting hit by that car but nothing else. I leaned against the wooden railing looking out at the river while Dean sat on the bench reading the newspaper.

There was so much I wanted to say but I knew I couldn't. What was I afraid of? That I would lose him again or maybe that it would turn out how my and Sam's relationship worked out. Then there's the demons and the angels and Lilith and Sam and Ruby and Alex...Not to mention Dean has commitment issues, or was I the one who had the issues?

"Well, the coin's melted down," Sam said as he walked up to Dean. I turned around and walked towards them slowly. "It shouldn't cause any more problems."

"Audrey's parents are back from Bali. Looks like all the wishes are gone. And so are we." Dean commented as we started walking back towards Dean's car.

"Hang on a second," Dean said suddenly stopping.

"What?" I asked.

"You were right," Dean answered.

"About what?"

"I shouldn't have lied to you, to either of you. I do remember everything that happened to me in the pit. Everything."

"So tell me about it," Sam said after a moment of silence.

"No." I sighed in annoyance at his answer. "I won't lie about it anymore. But I'm not gonna talk about it."

"Dean, look, you can't just shoulder this thing alone. You gotta let us help."

"How? Dean asked a skeptical look on his face. "You think a little heart-to-heart and some sharing and caring is gonna change anything? Huh? And somehow heal me? I'm not talking about a bad day here."

"We know that," Sam snapped back softly.

"The things that I saw...There aren't words. There is no forgetting. There's no making it better. Because it is right here," Dean said tapping his temple. "Forever. Neither of you would understand. And I could never make you understand. So I am sorry."

I closed my eyes before turning and walking away from them. I should have known that this is what it would come to. I should have known Dean wouldn't tell us anything. I could only imagine how bad hell was but did Dean realize how bad things were up here? How deep this death cut into not just Sam but me too?

* * *

**Hey everyone! Updates are going a little faster so be proud of me and my wonderful beta. Anywho I get this feeling I lost some readers when the new year started so if you're still with me then drop a quick review or something! Thanks to those who did review (which I think was like 1 person) and those who added me to their alert lists!**


	11. How It Happened

_**Chapter 11 – How It Happened**_

I closed my eyes and just listened. They were nothing but whispers. Usually it was screaming or well defined voices, but not this time. Why were they so quiet this time? What are they trying to hide.

"Can you hear them?" My eyes snapped open at the voice. Sitting next to me on the park bench was Uriel.

"Oh geez. You here to threaten me again?" I asked standing up.

"Sit down," Uriel commanded. I sat back down but as far away from the angel as I could. "What have you been hearing."

"None of your damn business," I snapped. I cringed in pain as a high pitched frequency went ripping through my skull. My hand went to my ears trying to block it out. "Stop," I grunted. And just like that the noise stopped.

"What have you been hearing?" Uriel asked more forcefully.

"Whispers. Nothing more nothing less, just whispers." I cringed hearing the flapping of wings and Uriel was gone.

* * *

1st Month

_I stood there in the pouring rain trying to figure out what I was gonna do next. I picked up the first thing I saw and just threw it, letting out a scream as I did so. I heard the shattering of glass as the object hit one of the rusted car's windows. I reached down and grabbed a piece of metal before walking towards one of the cars. _

_Ignored the sting of the metal cutting into my hands as I threw the metal at some more glass. As my tears mixed with the rain I fell to the ground covering my knees with mud. My blood mixing with the mud and rain. I felt someone walk up behind me._

"_Destroying everything you see isn't gonna bring him back," Bobby's voice rose over the rain._

"_You think I don't know that? I've been to every crossroads within a hundred mile radius. I haven't spoken to Sam in weeks! What's the point of all this if we're still miserable!"_

"_Its all a part of being alive!"_

"_Why wouldn't he let me make the deal, Bobby? He could've been up here with his brother living their lives. I don't matter as much as Dean does!"_

"_Well obviously he cared about you, Claire. Enough to let his life be take instead of yours! Now you better think about that before you go and do anything stupid!"_

* * *

I stared out the rain covered window at the dark scenery. I tried to push the memories back down because they were just that now...memories. I vaguely heard Sam talking on the phone asking for a missing persons report on Anna Milton.

Apparently while I was demon whispering the guys were at a bar where Ruby showed up claiming demons were after some girl named Anna. I could tell that Dean was annoyed by the fact that Sam was putting so much trust in Ruby.

"Well, Anna Milton's definitely real." Sam summarized.

"Don't mean the case is real. This hospital's a three-day drive."

"We've driven farther for less, Dean," Sam argued. "You got something to say, say it."

"I'm saying it. This sucks."

"You're not pissed we're after the girl. You're pissed Ruby threw us the tip."

"Right," Dean snapped. I rolled my eyes as the argument continued. "Far as you're concerned, the hell bitch is family. Something major must have happened while I was downstairs because I come back and you're all BFF with a demon."

"I told you. She helped me go after Lilith."

"Well thanks for the thumbnail. Real vivid. Wanna fill in a little detail? At least I know what Claire was doing the four months I was gone." My head snapped in Dean's direction. Did he really know what I had been doing?

"Sure Dean, let's trade stories. You first. How was hell? Don't spare the details." Sam snapped.

"Enough," I groaned from the backseat. "It's bad enough that we're stressing out over Ruby, don't go adding shit to the pile. Let's just get through this, please?"

* * *

2nd Month

"_I underestimated your stupidity," the little girl laughed as she paced in front of me. "I had a feeling Sam would come after me, but you?"_

_I took another punch in the face from the large demon standing next to me. My movements were restricted as another demon held me from behind. I could feel the blood dripping down my face, the bruises forming on my torso and the broken ribs._

"_Sad to see that my little Alex didn't survive the fight." I spat some of the blood that was in my mouth at Lilith hitting her dress. That got me another punch to the stomach. I groaned in pain as the demon holding me grabbed my hair and forced my head back leaving my neck exposed._

_I struggled some more when I noticed the other demon had a knife in his hand. I got another punch to the ribs causing me to yell in pain as another rib broke. My screams of pain stopped as the knife was placed at my throat. Lilith was standing in front of us looking bored. I closed my eyes waiting for the blade to glide across my neck._

"_Wait," she stopped the man from slicing my neck open. "Leave her alive. If we kill her we'd just be giving her what she wants. She's more miserable alive."_

_The demon dropped the knife but not before he nicked my neck letting the blood trail down my neck. I got another punch to the face before the demon holding me up let go allowing me to crumple to the floor. I tried to get up but I didn't have the energy. I watched helplessly as the three demons started walking away._

_I raised my hand in a last effort to hurt Lilith only for her to turn around the white light coming out of her hands. I was sent flying back into the wall, effectively leaving a large body-sized dent. I struggled to stay awake but black dots started blurring my vision._

"_Pathetic," Lilith hissed before walking away._

* * *

It took exactly three days to reach the hospital. And much to my relief it was nearly silent. Dean thought I had been at school all four month, trying to lead a normal life. For all that it's worth that wasn't a complete lie and as far as Sam knew that was what I was doing as well.

I tried my hardest to listen to the conversation Sam was having with Anna's psychiatrist, but I couldn't stay focused on that. Something about this whole thing just felt off. Why would the demon's want this random girl alive?

Of course the doctors would chalk it up to schizophrenia, with Anna claiming to see demons. People really don't understand how close demons actually are to them. They once again claim Anna's delusions took religious overtones.

Sam and Dean came out a few minutes later with some papers in their hands.

"I think this solidifies our case," Sam said handing me the papers. There were drawings on some, but I stopped at two particular pages with writing on them.

"Raising of the Witnesses and Samhain: The Next Seal is Broken?" I asked reading off the pages. "How does she know this stuff?"

"That is what we're going to find out," Dean commented as we got into the Impala.

We made our way to the Milton residence but I got stuck in the car while the guys walked up and knocked on the door. I slunk down in the seat in case the Milton's were to look at the car. I watched carefully as the guys just stood there. I watched as Dean opened the door and the two entered the house. I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched.

A few moments later Sam was at the door motioning for me to come in. I scanned the area before making my way into the house. As I entered the living room I let out a sigh at the sight. Mr and Mrs. Milton were lying dead on the floor their throats cut. There was a substance by Mrs. Milton's hand. Sam knelt down and sniffed it before making a disgusted face.

"Sulfur. Demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna-"

"They want her," Dean finished. "And they're not screwing around. All right, so I'm_ Girl, Interrupted _and I know the score of the Apocalypse. Just busted out of the nut box. Possibly using superpowers by the way. Where do I go?"

"Not to mention she's religious," I added looking at Sam who was looking at a photo.

"Hey, you got those sketches from Anna's notebook?" Sam asked suddenly. "Let me see them."

Flipping through the pages Sam stopped on one that was only half done but it was a pretty picture of a colorful stain-glass window and it was an exact match to the one in the photograph.

"She was drawing the window of her church over and over again."

"If you were religious, scared and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?" Sam asked.

"The church," I answered.

* * *

After the guys changed we headed to the church and thankfully there was no one there. We made our way in guns drawn. We split up on the bottom floor before reaching a set of stairs that led to the attic. Sam went first, then me, then Dean.

Looking around the attic, it was more like another prayer room. Sam then quietly pointed out that there was someone behind the stained glass in the corner. I quickly put the safety back on and put it away.

"Anna?" I asked.

"We're not gonna hurt you," Sam continued. "We're here to help. My name's Sam. This is my brother, Dean. And our friend, Claire."

"Sam?" A female voice asked. "Not Sam Winchester?"

"Yeah?" Sam answered confused. Suddenly a young woman walked into the open.

"And you're Claire? Claire Williams, the nephilim?" Anna asked. It took all of my will power not to cringe. I nodded and I could feel the Winchesters' confused looks on me but my gaze stayed on Anna.

"And you're Dean? The Dean?" Anna asked.

"Well, yeah. The Dean, I guess." I rolled my eyes at his response.

"It's really you. Oh my god." I could tell Dean was really eating this up. "The angels talk about you. You were in hell, but Castiel pulled you out and some of them think you can help save us." She then turned to Sam. "And some of them don't like you at all."

Anna then turned to me. "Some forgive you. They realize the mistakes of the Ancient Ones should not be taken out on those who had no control over their past." Well it's nice to know not all of them hate me.

"They talk about you all the time lately," Anna continued. "I feel like I know you."

"So you talk to angels?" Dean asked.

"Oh, no, no. No way. They probably don't even know I exist. I just kinda overhear them."

"You overhear them?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, they talk and sometimes I just hear them in my head."

Oh Jesus. This girl was like my polar opposite. She hears angels, I hear demons. Not to mention she just told the Winchesters that I was a freaking nephilim not that either guy knew what that meant.

"Like right now?" Dean asked.

"Not right this second. But a lot. And I can't shut them out. There are so many of them."

"I know that feeling," I let slip before I realized it. I could tell by the look on both guy's faces I had a lot of explaining to do later.

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies, when really you were just tuning in to angel radio?" Dean asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Anna, when did the voices start? Do you remember?" Sam asked.

"I can tell you exactly. September 18th."

"Day I got out of hell," Dean added.

"First words I heard, clear as a bell: 'Dean Winchester is saved'."

"What do you think?" Dean asked quietly.

"This is way above my paygrade, man." Sam replied.

"I think we need to get her out of her before the demons decide to show up." I said softly.

"Well at least now we know why the demons want you so bad. They get ahold of you and they can hear everything the other side's cooking. You're 1-900-ANGEL." I ignored the jealousy as Dean flirted with _Anna_.

"Hey, do you know, are my parents okay? I didn't go home. I was afraid."

Suddenly the door slammed open and in walked Ruby. "You got the girl? Good, let's go," she said hurriedly. Anna started freaking out.

"Her face!" Anna yelled hysterically.

"It's okay she's here to help," Sam tried calming Anna down.

"Don't be so sure," Dean commented softly.

"We have to hurry!" Ruby said again.

"Why?" I asked at the same time as Dean.

"Because a demon's coming. Big-timer. We can fight later, Dean." Ruby snapped.

"Well that's pretty convenient. Showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail."

"I didn't bring him. You did."

"What?"

"He followed you from the girl's house. We gotta go now!" Ruby explained.

"Dean," Sam said pointing to the statue in the corner. The statue was crying _blood_.

"It's too late. He's here."

"How big we talking here Ruby?" I asked.

"Lilith big."

Sam immediately grabbed Anna and hid her in the nearby closet. I stood there in the middle of the room taking in deep calming breaths. The last time I went up against a big-timer I was beat pretty bad. Dean had walked over to the statue and was examining it. By the look on Ruby's face she knew exactly what I was thinking about.

* * *

_As I struggled to breathe, I felt someone approach. The screams in my head told me exactly who it was. Demon. I kept my eyes closed hoping that either they were gonna kill me or just walk away. _

"_Claire, wake up." A unfamiliar voice reached my ears. "Come on you stupid idiot!"_

"_Ruby?" I croaked out hopefully._

"_That's a girl. Sam would never forgive me if I let you die." She knelt down and used all he strength to lift my dead weight off the ground._

"_So that's why you're here because of Sam?" I asked as she dragged me out of the house. "Well I hate to break it to you but I have no clue where he's at."_

"_I know exactly where he's at thank you very much." As Ruby sat me in her car I caught a glimpse at her new body through my partially swollen eye._

"_There better not be anyone in that body Ruby," I hissed in pain as I tried to move._

"_What is it with you two and possession?" Ruby asked. "Don't worry this girl was totally empty, I double checked. Sam threatened to kill me if I didn't find an empty one."_

"_Where are you taking me?" I jumped topics again._

"_To the hospital then I'm gonna go get Sam."_

"_No!" I said loudly. I sighed at the look Ruby was giving me. "He thinks I'm at school. I made a promise to someone and as far as anyone knows that's exactly where I am. Please Ruby."_

_Ruby shook her head. "What were you even thinking going after Lilith like that?"_

"_I wasn't."_

"_Well that's obvious."_

"_You can't tell anyone about this Ruby. You can't," I mumbled._

"_You have my word," She replied after a long silence._

* * *

"No, Sam," Ruby said as Sam pulled out a flask of holy water. "You gotta pull him right away."

"Whoa hold on a second!" Dean said.

"Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going dark-side," Ruby snapped at Dean. "He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die."

"Is he even powerful enough to do that?" I asked concerned. Ruby nodded as Sam put away the flask and stood in front of us ready.

We stood frozen as the sound of footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Suddenly the door flew open splintering as it did. And in walked a man in his mid to late 40's a smirk on his face. Sam raised his hand causing the demon's hand to go to his neck lightly touch it before he lightly coughs and his eyes turn normal. It didn't work.

"That tickles. You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam," the demon spoke. He then reached his hand out and sent Sam flying down the flight of stairs. Ruby ran back to the closet and quickly got Anna out of there.

I put my hand out and jerked it to the left, but the demon only swayed slightly. This threw me off sees as how I could make Samhain stumble, hell I could make angels stumble around but this guy only acted like a breeze had hit him.

"Cute. I wondered when I would be meeting you, Claire. I would just love to tear into that pretty little flesh of yours," the demon smiled before he held out his hand. I felt my body being thrown backwards before I crashed into the stain-glass window Anna had been hiding behind earlier.

I slowly stood up but stumbled back a bit as a wave of nausea hit me. My side was hurting really bad and when I looked down I noticed blood seeping through my shirt. I looked over at the fight between Dean and the demon to see Sam shoving Ruby's knife into the demon's chest. I made my way over to Sam and Dean while I held my side.

Both guys were looking at the stain glass window that led to outside. The only downside to their plan was we were on the second floor and the last time I checked that was still a long way to the ground. Without a second guess both guys were charging at the window. Against my better judgment I followed right after them.

I realized how much of a bad idea that was when I hit the ground. I groaned in pain as I stood up, and tried following the Winchesters but stopped when my ankle hurt when pressure was applied. Sam notice to and thankfully he picked me up and ran along with Dean back to the car.

* * *

"Sam you have to stop moving," I demanded as a pushing the needle into his skin before pulling it out again leaving the stitch. Sam groaned in pain as the needle pierced his skin once more. Dean was in the bathroom spitting blood into the skin while catering to his dislocated shoulder.

As soon as I was done I lifted up my shirt as Sam gave me the same treatment, only mine was more drawn out sees as how the wound was larger. I grunted in pain as Sam stitched up my wound, my leg was propped up with ice on my ankle.

"Are you almost done?" Dean asked.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Sam answered, the needle going back into my skin.

"Yeah, don't freaking rush him!" I said breathlessly.

"You know, I've got a dislocated shoulder here."

"Yeah, I'll pop it back when I'm finished," Sam answered still in pain from the stitching I gave him. Sam then finished and cut the remaining string. "Give me that." Sam demanded of the whiskey in Dean's hand.

He then pour the alcohol on his wound causing him to grunt in pain. He then poured the stuff on my wound causing my to shout in pain.

"What the hell you trying to kill me!" I yelled at him as he stood up drinking from the bottle.

"So you lost the magic knife?"

"Yeah, saving your ass."

"Who the hell was that?" I asked from my position on the bed.

"No one good," Dean answered vaguely holding his arm. "We gotta find Anna."

"Ruby's got her. I'm sure she's okay," Sam commented. "Okay, come on." Sam stood up and went behind Dean so he could pop his shoulder back into place. "On Three. One."

CRACK!

Dean cried out in pain before turning and walking away from Sam and me back towards the bathroom. I remember how that felt. I swear it's karma. Dean was out of breath at this point from the pain.

Sam sat down on the bed next to me with a wet cloth in his hand. He placed the cold cloth on my stitching before getting another one for himself.

"You sure about Ruby?" Dean asked. "Because I think it's just as likely she used us to find radio girl and brought that demon in to kill us."

"No, she took Anna to keep her safe." Sam responded.

"Well, why hasn't she called to tell us where she is?"

"Because that demon is probably watching us right now," Sam raised his voice. "Waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That's why he let us go."

"You call this letting us go?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I do," Sam retorted.

"Killing us would have been no problem to that thing. That's why for now, we gotta lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us."

"How's she gonna do that?" Dean asked. "Why do you trust her so much?"

"Dean-" I started to complain but Sam stopped me.

"I told you."

"You gotta do better than that." Dean said throwing his ice pack in the sink before walking towards Sam. "I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I really want to understand. But I need to know more. I mean, I deserve to know more."

"Because...she saved my life."

* * *

3rd Month

_I sat at the kitchen table looking over some maps I had bought last week. I jumped at every noise the small apartment made. The apartment wasn't the best but that's what I get for being cheap in a big city like Chicago._

_The knocking at the door startled me. I grabbed the shotgun that was leaning against the wall before going to the door._

"_Who is it?" I called out the shotgun trained at the door. I moved the rug away with my foot to check if the Devil's Trap was still there before covering it back up._

"_It's me." The familiar and well missed voice answered. I yanked the door open letting the shotgun hang limp in my hands._

"_Sam." I set the shotgun down before throwing my arms around his neck. In response his hands wrapped around me. As soon as I let him go I punched him right in the jaw. "Where the hell have you been! You just up and left you jackass!"_

"_I'm sorry. I just had to find a way to get Dean back." Sam apologized while he rubbed his jaw. _

"_And how's that working out for you?" I snapped. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of air before closing the door, but before it closed a foot stopped it. Ruby then sauntered into the apartment before coming to a halt at the end of the rug, right where the Devil's Trap ended._

"_Claire, it's okay. It's just Ruby, you can let her out." Sam walked a little ways into the apartment before he stopped. I knelt down and broke the trap before slamming the front door shut. I then knelt back down and fixed the trap._

"_What have you been up to, Sam?" I asked._

"_I went after Lilith." Sam said quietly._

"_I'm sorry what did you say?"_

"_You heard me."_

"_I cannot believe you went after Lilith, without me!" I shouted. Ruby gave me a knowing look before I glared at her."Who's idea was it?" I asked suddenly._

"_Technically?" Sam asked._

"_What are you guys doing here?" I asked fed up with the vague answers._

"_Stopped by to make sure you were okay. Bobby gave me the address." _

_I watched as Sam wandered over to the kitchen table, where I had my maps laid out. I wanted to smack myself for not hiding those first. I had certain areas circled with red marker._

"_What's this?" Sam asked._

"_Nothing," I answered quickly grabbing the maps off the table. "Some school project for a geography class I'm taking. You know traveling around the U.S. kinda primes you for that."_

_There was an awkward silence that filled the room as I threw the maps in the nearby closet. I noticed Ruby giving me a warning glare while Sam scoped out the apartment._

"_Look you guys can stay here if you want, I've got an extra bedroom." I offered._

"_Yeah, that'd be great." Sam smiled._

_After a few hours of catching up Sam and Ruby disappeared. I decided to pull out the maps again when I heard faint conversation coming from the guest bedroom. I slowly crept over to the door and pressed my ear to it._

"_Sam you have to do it." Ruby's voice sounded annoyed. _

"_Not here."_

"_You can't risk losing strength because you're visiting Claire."_

"_Fine," I heard Sam sigh._

_Automatically I was worried because why would Sam lose strength? Being the good friend I am I quickly opened the door shocked at what Sam was doing._

* * *

"Sam," Dean groaned.

"Yeah?"

"Too much information." I looked back and forth between the guys confused on what they were talking about.

"Hey, I told you I was coming clean," Sam defended himself, against what I had no clue.

"Yeah, but now I feel dirty," Dean complained. "Okay, well, uh...brain-stabbing imagery aside, so far all you've told me about is a manipulative bitch who uh, screwed you, played mind games with you and did everything in the book to get you to go bad."

"Yeah, well there's more to the story," Sam snapped.

"Just...skip the nudity please."

"Pretty soon after…that, um…I put together some signs, omens."

"Saying what?" I asked absently, even though I knew the answer.

"Lilith was in town," Sam answered not able to look me in the eye. "And I wanted to strike her first."

Dean glanced between the two of us, a look of confusion on his face by the way Sam and I were acting. My gaze locked with Dean's and I knew he could see right through me. Almost like he knew something had happened.

* * *

"_WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" I shouted at the top of my lungs._

"_Claire, look I can explain," Sam put his hands up in defense._

"_You were drinking her blood!" I kept yelling._

"_It's helping me-"_

"_HOW? You some kind of flipping vampire!" To say I was livid was an understatement._

"_I can pull demons out of people without killing them!" Sam yelled back._

"_Claire-" Ruby cut in._

"_Shut the hell up Ruby! I should send your ass back to hell!" I shouted at her. I raised my hand sending Ruby flying back into the devil's trap by the door._

"_What do you mean you can pull demons out of people?" I snapped turning back to Sam._

"_I don't know...I just can. I send the demons back to hell. I've saved more people than ever and most of them survived!"_

_I sighed heavily before sitting down on the couch putting my head in my hands. I was trying to wrap my mind around it. There was a time when I could do that. I could heal people too, see ghosts. I lost myself during that time. I looked back up at Sam._

"_Just don't lose yourself in it all, Sam."_

"_What?" he asked confused.  
_

"_I know how hard it is to keep your head on straight when you have that kind of power rushing through you. Just don't lose sight of who you are."_

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Here's the next chapter, I hope you liked it. Drop a review and let me know!**


	12. Heaven Couldn't Have That

_**Chapter 12 – Heaven Couldn't Have That**_

"_I know how hard it is to keep your head on straight when you have that kind of power rushing through you. Just don't lose sight of who you are."_

I snapped out of the memory as a knock sounded from the door.

"Housekeeping!"

"Not now," Dean replied. Everyone in the room was stressed out, all probably for different reasons.

"Sir, I've got clean towels."

Dean had an annoyed look on his face as he stood up and opened the door. "Couldn't you just leave them at the door?"

The maid pushed past Dean into the room after handing him the towels. She shut the door then immediately went for the curtains and closed them. I sat up defensively but instantly regretted it when a pain shot through my ankle.

"I'm at this address," The maid pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Sam.

"I'm sorry what?" Sam asked thinking this was some kind of joke. I was more confused by the situation that anything. I was about to speak up when the screams started up in my head. I kept nudging Sam with my foot, but he kept pushing it away.

"Go now," The maid replied pointing towards the bathroom. "Go through the bathroom window. Don't stop, don't take your car, don't pass Go. There are demons in the hallway and parking lot."

A look of recognition crossed Sam's face. "Ruby?"

"Okay, yeah, I'm possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me."

"What about-"

"Coma girl? Slowly rotting on the floor at the cabin with Anna. So I gotta hurry back. See you when you get there. Go!"

As Ruby left Dean turned to Sam with a 'what-the-hell' look on his face. I moved to get off the bed but as soon as I put pressure on my ankle I pulled it back hissing in pain. I could tell by the look on Sam's face that he wanted me to stay here.

"Guys I have to go with you," I replied to the look on their faces.

"Claire, you're injured. You're safer here with the windows and doors salted. Devil's trap is in front of the door." Sam spoke up before Dean could.

"Dean." I knew when he didn't say anything the argument was over. I was staying here whether I wanted to or not. I let out a deep sigh before reaching over and grabbing the remote, flipping on the TV. Sam tossed a shotgun and a couple of shells down on the bed next to me before disappearing into the bathroom.

"I can't believe you're gonna make me stay here." I commented as Dean headed towards the bathroom. I watched as he stopped and turned around facing me. "I've fought with more injuries than this and you're gonna leave me with demons crawling around outside?"

"They won't do anything. They think we're all in here and they're not gonna risk it."

"You don't know that," I whispered. Dean walked towards me and leaned over placing his hand on my cheek.

"You'll be fine, I promise." He leaned down some more pressing his lips to mine. I was surprised at first before I responded. He pulled away first and walked towards the bathroom.

I heard Dean sigh before finally walking into the bathroom. "Don't be worried if I'm not here when you come back! I probably just got snatched," I commented softly as I flipped through the channels.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed but I eventually flipped off the TV and just concentrated on what was going on outside of the room. I could hear them...the demons. The screams in my head wouldn't stop after Ruby had left.

I could feel him out there. The one from the church. I could feel him...almost like he could see me through the walls. Who was he? Why was Dean so freaked out when he showed up? The demon knew Dean on more than just a "I've heard about you" level. Something happened in hell and I have a feeling that demon had something to do with it.

I stood up and limped towards the door. Right before I could open the door it blew open splintering to pieces sending me back to the ground. I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position as the demon in question walked into the room. He stopped at the devil's trap before the ground cracked breaking the trap.

I didn't have the strength to stand up so I slide across the floor trying to get away from him. The demon gave me a sickly grin before walking forward into the room. I put out my hand hoping it would do something but again there was nothing.

"Hello Claire."

"Who are you?" I asked as my back hit the wall.

"Alastair...we need to leave before the angels come." Another demon said walking into the room.

"Time for some answers." Alastair said grinning maliciously at me.

* * *

I screamed in pain as Alastair ripped open the stitches and stuck his fingers in the wound.

"Where is she?" he asked. I struggled against the restraints holding me to the table. I shook my head refusing to say anything. I bit back another scream as he took a surgical blade and ran it down my stomach. He pulled the knife away from my skin before looking at the blood on the blade.

"It's been a while since I've carved into a living human being. You're a special case though, Claire."

"Why's that?" I groaned.

"Because, you are half angel." My eyes widened at what he just said. "You think we wouldn't have found out? See we were just content on keeping you until we realized you could only hear demons, not angels."

Alastair took the blade and dug it into my arm. I cried out in pain as the constant dripping of blood was heard. I closed my eyes letting out another scream as he dug it into my skin some more. When I opened my eyes Alastair was once again staring at the blood on the knife.

"You know. You scream just as much as he did." Through the pain I was able to give him a confused look. "Let me tell you there is nothing more pleasing that hearing someone scream. Now Dean, oh Dean. He was a screamer. I gave him a choice though either he could suck it up and endure the torture or he could help me."

"Dean would never do that," I snapped in pain. I let out another bone chilling scream as he dug his fingers into my wound.

"He was a most thrilling student. You should have seen him. For a while all he would moan about was you and Sam. I feel like I know you two so well."

"You're lying," I hissed. Another scream erupted from my throat as he took the small blade and stuck it back in my skin only this time he left it there. I felt the tears leaking from the corner of my eyes and falling down my cheeks.

"A marvelous thing your blood is," Alastair commented rubbing my blood between his fingers. "They say it's the key to the end. Blah blah blah. Dean started it and you're gonna finish what he started."

I couldn't take the pain anymore and with the way I was bleeding I wasn't gonna make it much longer, so I let my eyes fall shut. I told the guys I needed to go with them but did they listen? NO. They handed me a shotgun and said I'd be alright. Now I'm being tortured by Alastair. Fan-freaking-tastic.

* * *

The first thing I felt was the heat beating down on me. So hell really was hot, huh? I finally opened my eyes only to be blinded by none other than the sun. What the hell?

I tried to move only I couldn't. I opened my eyes again letting them adjust to the new light. I tried moving again only to have pain shoot through my body. I groaned in pain. I looked around the best I could and noticed old rusted car piled up on one another.

No way. It couldn't be.

"Help!" I yelled at the top of my lungs before I stopped short and started coughing. My hand went to my stomach only to feel something wet. I pulled my hand away and looked at it seeing the blood. So it wasn't all a dream.

"Somebody?" I yelled again. "Anybody! Bobby?"

"Claire!" A male voice yelled.

"Over here!" The pain kept getting worse as a shadow fell over me.

"Hey, hey.." Dean fell to hiss knees next to me.

"I told you not to leave me alone," I commented holding onto my stomach.

"Where were you? We looked everywhere for you!" Dean stopped short taking in all the blood seeping through my clothes. "What happened?" He asked fear flashing in his eyes. He helped me sit up before applying pressure to my wounds.

"Alastair," I grunted as Dean applied more pressure. A look of horror crossed Dean's face before he masked it. "Dean..."

He quickly snapped out of staring at the wounds before he picked me up. Dean quickly rushed back to the house with me bleeding in his arms. If I wasn't in so much pain, I might have enjoyed this.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as we entered the house. I was set gently on the couch. I looked over as Sam rounded the corner with Ruby and Anna right behind him. I let out a yell as Dean pulled up my shirt that had stuck to my wounds.

"What happened?" Sam knelt down by the couch to help Dean.

"Alastair," Ruby answered grimacing at the fresh cuts on my body cause by Alastair and his knife.

"I did this." Anna spoke up near tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Sam we gotta stop the bleeding," Dean said quietly not to upset Anna any further. "Ruby get her downstairs!"

I moaned in pain as Sam started cleaning around the small wounds along me arms as Dean held a clothe to the larger wound Sam stitched up not a few hours before. I closed my eyes hoping it would help me bare the pain.

"Hey, stay awake," Sam said lightly tapping my cheeks.

"I'm awake," I muttered. "Just stitch it up."

"We gotta stop the bleeding," Dean answered.

"Stitch it up and the bleeding will stop." I hissed. I noticed the worried look Dean gave Sam before he got up and disappeared into the kitchen. He came back with Bobby's custom first aid kit.

After a few more hours of more pain, everything was stitched up. Dean had left a while ago leaving Sam to stitch me up. I was laying completely still on the couch my eyes closed. My eyes snapped open when the couch dipped down near my feet. I tried to sit up but immediately stopped and laid still again.

"I am really sorry." Anna spoke up the sincerity in her voice.

"It's not your fault, Anna."

"Yes it is," she replied near tears. "They took you and tortured you, to try and get to me."

"You can pay me back later," I joked causing Anna to smile. Anna's smile faded as Ruby entered the room staring at the two of us for a minute.

"You should really be downstairs," Ruby directed towards Anna. The redhead nodded before giving me a small smile and headed downstairs.

"Who is Alastair?" I asked.

"He's the Grand Inquisitor in hell. Picasso with a razor. You had the misfortune of experiencing that firsthand." Ruby explained. I nodded absently keeping the tidbit about Dean to myself.

"Help me downstairs," I said slowly sitting up flinching in pain as I did. Ruby walked over to me and gently helped me off the couch and helped me limp down the stairs. Right as we reached the panic room Ruby stopped. I forgot she couldn't go in.

Anna jumped up and helped me into a chair just as Sam came barreling down the stairs.

"Where's Claire?" he asked out of breath.

"Hey Sammy!" I waved from my spot on one of the numerous chairs in the panic room.

"What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be resting."

"I am resting. I'm just resting upright now." I rolled my eyes at the worried look on his face. "Chill Sam I'm fine. I feel better already." That was a complete lie.

Sam just shook his head as he stepped into the room. He walked slowly over to me his head hanging down. I knew that look...he was feeling guilty. He carefully sat down in the chair next to me letting out a sigh.

"Hey," I whispered grabbing his hand. "This isn't your fault. Trust me. Anna already tried blaming herself, I'll bet you Dean blames himself. If anyone is at fault it's me. So stop mopping around."

"It's just-"

"I'll heal in no time, Sam." I cut him off.

"We're here!" Dean announced as he guided none other than Pamela down the stairs. Sam quickly stood up and went out to meet them.

"Pamela, hey!"

"Sam. Sam?" Pamela's voice drifted into the panic room.

"Yeah. It's me, Sam."

"Sam is that you?"

"I'm right here." Sam replied. She was so milking this for all it was worth. I smiled thinking about how Pamela was probably gonna use it as an excuse to grab Sam's ass.

"Oh. Know how I can tell?" Pam asked. I heard Sam grunt. "That perky little ass of yours. Bounce a nickel off that thing. Ha ha ha. Of course, I know its you, Grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon and that poor girl's Anna. And you've been eying my rack."

I grinned at hearing Sam stutter over his words causing Pam to laugh. "Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most."

I slowly stood up and walked to the entrance of the panic room and leaned against the door. "Long time no see, Pam." I commented out of breath.

"Claire...What the hell happened to you?" Pamela asked glancing in my general direction. I looked up towards Dean who was a little surprised to see me up and walking around.

"A little demon torture, nothing I can't handle."

"Anna. How are you? I'm Pamela." She introduced herself changing the subject.

"Hi," Anna replied shyly as Pam walked towards the redhead.

"Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."

"Oh, well that's nice of you," Anna replied as Pam grabbed the young girls hands with her own.

"Well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?"

"They stole something from me." I looked at Dean when Pamela took off her sunglasses to show Anna. His green eyes met mine as Pam talked about how demony they made her look.

"Now, how about you tell me what your deal is?" Pam said as the two walked back into the panic room.

I moved to the side as the two entered the room and Anna began to explain as much as she could. I looked over at Ruby who rolled her eyes in response. I turned to reenter the room but a gentle tugging on my arm pulled me back. I turned and came face to face with Dean.

"What are you doing moving around?" He asked quietly not to disturb Pam and Anna.

"Gotta get up at some point. I'm sticking around and helping whether you want me to or not." I replied quietly.

I moved past Dean and sat back down on the chair I was in earlier. Pam directed Anna to lay down on the cot in the room. Dean had entered the room along with Sam, but Sam stayed by the door where Ruby was standing sees as how she couldn't come in.

"Now, I'm gonna count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down just go deeper and deeper, okay? Five, four, three, two, one. Deep sleep."

I leaned back in the chair letting out a sigh hoping that this was gonna work. I really would love why this girl could hear angels and why she's important enough for Alastair to torture me for information.

"Can you hear me?" Pam asked.

"I can hear you." Anna replied immediately.

"Now, Anna tell me how can you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?" Whoa rewind...what spell?

"I don't know. I just did." She replied softly her eyes still closed.

"Your father, what's his name?"

"Rich Milton."

"All right. But I want you to look further back when you were very young. Just a couple of years old."

"I don't wanna."

"It'll be okay, Anna. Just one look, that's all we need." Pam urged. Anna was started to move around on the bed unlike the complete stillness she had earlier.

"No." Anna replied slightly raising her voice.

"What's your dad's name? Your real dad?" Pam pushed. "Why is he angry at you?"

"No. No. No! NO!" Anna screamed arching up off the bed her eyes still closed. Pam was telling her to calm down but Anna was still screaming. "He's gonna kill me!"

Soon the lights started flickering. I stood up only to drop down to my knees as the high pitched frequency ripped through my head. I was taken by surprise at the sudden onslaught, my hands going to my head. I saw the panic room door slam close blocking Ruby from view.

Dean ran over to Anna try try and calm her while Sam knelt down next to me. Anna threw her arm out knocking Dean away from her. I pulled my hand away from my ears when I felt the wet sticky blood. Sam's eyes were wide with confusion as he saw the blood dripping from my ears.

Pam quickly counted to five instantly calming the girl. "Anna?"

Sam helped me to my feet once things had calmed down. I took my bloody hands away from my ears before wiping the blood onto my jeans, as if my clothes didn't have enough blood on them from earlier.

Anna's eyes had opened but you could tell something was different. Her whole demeanor had changed. The redhead slowly sat up and turned towards Pam.

"Thank you, Pamela. That helped a lot. I remember now." All eyes were on the young woman.

"Remember what?" Sam asked.

"Who I am."

"I'll bite. Who are you?"

"I'm an angel." it was dead silent after Anna uttered those words.

"Awesome." I replied sarcastically my fingers went back up to my ears feeling the blood. I limped back over to the heavy iron door and forced it open finding an anxious Ruby standing there.

"What happened?" she asked peering into the room.

"Why don't you ask the angel?" I snapped forcing my way past her and up the stairs.

I stood in the kitchen wiping the blood from my ears as the rest of the group made their way up to the library.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not like the others," Anna, the angel spoke. I scoffed.

"I don't find that very reassuring," Ruby answered.

"Neither do I." Pam spoke up.

"So," Anna sighed. "Castiel, Uriel, they're the ones that came for me?"

"You know them?" Sam asked.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole."

"So they were your bosses or whatever?" I asked walking into the library.

"Try the other way around," Anna replied glancing at me.

"Well look at you," Dean commented on what her status was.

"But now they want you dead?" Pam asked.

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

"Why?"

"I disobeyed which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asked confused.

"She fell to earth," I answered.

"Became human," Pam added.

"Wait I'm confused. Angels can just become human?" Sam was looking from me to Pam to Anna.

"Kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurts. I ripped out my grace."

"Come again?" Dean asked looking more confused by the minute.

"My grace. It's energy. Hacked it out and fell. It hurts, I mean really hurts but not as much as only having half of a grace," Anna answered glancing over at me. "My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" Dean asked sarcastically. I glanced over at Ruby who looked like she was still trying to digest the new information.

"The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

"I don't think you appreciate how completely screwed we are," Ruby snapped from her spot next to me.

"Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And hell just wants her." Ruby finished. "A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later heaven or hell, they're gonna find you."

"I know. And that's why I'm gonna get it back."

"What?" Dena and I asked at the same time.

"My grace."

"You can do that?" Dean asked.

"If I can find it."

"So what? You're gonna take some divine bong hit and shazam you're Roma Downey?" I rolled my eyes at Dean's metaphor.

"Something like that."

"All right. I like this plan." Of course he does. "So where's this grace of yours?"

"Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time." Anna answered.

"Convenient." I commented sarcastically.

"Wait, you mean falling, like, literally."

"Yes."

"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe or a meteor?" Sam asked. I could see the gears turning in his head.

"Why do you ask?" Anna questioned.

"I'll let you know," Sam replied before he quickly got up and walked out of the room, Ruby right at his heels.

I looked towards Pamela who looked shaken by what she had gotten involved in. I knew that after last time she didn't wanna be near Anna.

"Dean why don't you drive me home?" Pam said breaking the silence. The look on Anna's face showed she was confused why Pam wanted outta there so fast.

"Yeah, sure."

Pamela quickly left the room, Dean gave Anna an apologetic look before following after Dean. I rolled my eyes seeing that I was the only one left in the room with Anna. I turned away from the angel and quickly way out of the house. Much to my disdain, I heard footsteps following me out of the house.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Anna asked.

"Oh geez. Look its not personal. Me and angels haven't exactly gotten along."

"It is personal. I can see it in your eyes. It's Dean right? I see the way you look at him...The way he looks at you."

"Look as much as I would just love to talk about my personal matters with you, I've got things to do." I responded sarcastically as I started walking away.

"Like figuring out what happened to your powers?" Anna asked halting me in my tracks. "The angels like to control things to a tee. They won't tell you anything until God wants you to know."

"So why don't you tell me?" I crossed my arms over my chest. I watched as Anna looked up towards the sky, watching the sun set. "Anna."

"You're an angel. Full, half, quarter...it doesn't matter. You have the grace. Just like the rest of them." I scoffed at her before turning around. "Why do you think your powers have been failing lately."

"Ever since..." I stopped.

"Ever since your sister went to hell. The grace is usually reserved for the oldest daughter, but in your case."

"With twins the grace got split."

"Your powers aren't working because only half your grace is on earth."

"That makes sense." I sighed leaning against the hood of the nearest not stacked car. "I felt stronger when she was around."

It was quiet between us as we watched the sun make its slow descent. I could feel the gears turning in my head. Alex...Grace...Angels...Nephilim...Seals...Demons. There was no end. If I am gonna help in this war then I need my grace. Even if it means bringing Alex back.

"You can't do it." Anna said suddenly.

"I'm sorry what?"

"Bring Alex back. You can't do it."

"Why not."

"She's not your sister. She never was."

I scoffed. "That's where you're wrong. She is my sister. I may not have known her long or been close to her but if everything you're saying is true...Then I need her."

"Let me guess." Anna started. "Castiel told you they needed your help protecting the seals?" I'm guessing something on my face gave it away. "I thought so. You wanna know why the Nephilim were taken out centuries ago. Because they were starting a mass rebellion. We used to co-exist peacefully until they started siding with Lucifer. They were flesh angels...not like the ones in heaven. They saw the destruction and the horrors. Heaven couldn't have that."

"So how did Heaven take them out?"

"It started with the great floods. You know the whole Noah's Arc thing? After that failed each nephilim was assigned a seal to protect. The angels would set demons on the nephilim. Took out most of the pack. Few were lucky to scrap through. Ever since they've been flying under the radar. At least they were before I fell."

"Thanks, Anna. For everything." I whispered before walking away from her.

* * *

After I had taken a shower and washed all the blood of me, I reentered the guest bedroom and saw my duffel bag sitting on the bed.

"Thanks guys," I whispered as I strode over to the bag and got out a fresh set of clothing. After quickly putting the clothes on I moved over towards the window and silently peered out at the salvage yard. I noticed that Anna was still in the same spot I had left her almost an hour ago, only this time there was an extra body there.

I didn't expect Dean to be back from Pam's so quickly. I stared intently at the two as they talked trying to see if I could read their lips. Of course I couldn't so I had no clue what they were saying to each other. I could feel the jealousy making its way through my body.

"Claire." Sam's voice drifted towards me from the doorway. I turned my head in his direction taking my jealous gaze away from Dean and Anna. "I think I found it."

"The grace?" Sam just nodded before leaving the doorway vacant once again. I turned back to the window letting a sigh escape from my lips. A few moments later I saw Sam outside telling the two something. Probably what he just told me.

I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach about this. I didn't wanna go chasing after Anna's grace when, apparently, I had my own to worry about. If I'm only half as strong with Alex in hell then I needed to get her out somehow.

* * *

**Heck yes! Two chapters in one day! I am on a roll. Thank you to all who read my stories, you guys are the greatest! Please leave a review, message me...something so I know I still have readers! **


	13. That's What You Get

_**Chapter 13 – That's What You Get**_

I was sitting in the back of the impala with Anna and Ruby on either side. I rolled my eyes as Dean made a comment about angel and demon in the back seat causing Sam to retort that this was reality not porn.

I leaned my head back against the seat and let my eyes close.

I opened my eyes and was a little surprised that I was no longer sitting in the impala. I slowly sat up listening to the sounds around me. Birds, bugs, and the crunching of leaves. I looked up and noticed Cas was standing in front of me.

I quickly stood up brushing the leaves off me. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Woods." Cas stated simply as though I was supposed to know.

"What am I doing here? Better yet what are you doing here?"

"We need your help."

I scoffed looking around at everything but the angel. I thought back to what Anna said. _"After that failed each nephilim was assigned a seal to protect. The angels would set demons on the nephilim. Took out most of the pack. Few were lucky to scrap through."_

"I know about what you did to the nephilim," I whispered. "I know they...we lived peacefully until your kind decided we needed to be removed!"

"It was just-"

"Just my ass. You know what you and the angels can just go shove it. I'm tired of this."

I turned to walk away, which was kind of stupid cause I had no clue where I was at. I stopped when Castiel spoke up.

"You grace is not in hell." Cas started. I slowly turned to him as he continued. "I would have felt it when I saved Dean."

"What? How is that possible? Where is it?"

I never got an answer because Cas soon disappeared and someone was shaking me. My eyes snapped open to see Ruby leaning over me a smirk on her face before she pulled her hands away from my shoulders.

"And the princess awakes," Ruby joked. I glared at her before following her out of the vehicle.

I froze on spot when my feet hit the solid earth. There was a weird feeling, I couldn't describe it but I felt...calm, despite the situation we were in. The sensation was so surreal I was starting to doubt my sanity.

"You feel it too?" Anna asked coming up to me.

"What is it."

"My grace." Anna nodded towards the Godly Tree in front of us.

"It's beautiful," Dean commented.

"It's where the grace touched down. We can feel it," Anna replied before she touch my arm gently.

"You ready to do this?" Dean asked.

"Not really." The young woman walked forward. Sam, Dean, and Ruby all moved forward to follow leaving me standing there looking like an idiot.

My gaze was so focused on the tree I hadn't noticed that Dean had stopped and walked back towards me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when he lightly placed his hand on my arm. I shook my head pulling out of the trance before looking to Dean.

"You okay? You seem a little out of it."

"Everything's happening so fast. I just...I'm being told one thing and then I'm being told something else. I just don't know what to believe anymore." I whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked. "The nephilim thing everyone's talking about?"

"Yeah. I-"

"It's not here," Anna's voice rang out cutting me off. After I heard that, it felt like someone had just punched me, the calmness was gone.

* * *

Everything after that was a blur. We were quickly rushing back to the car, and the scenery was going by too quickly. I knew we had stopped but it didn't fully register until Dean's voice broke through the void.

"We still got the hex bags. I say we head back to the panic room."

"What, forever?" Ruby asked sarcastically.

"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean spat. I put my head in my hands before setting my elbows on my knees. On top of the screeching noises in my head I had these two arguing with one another.

"Anna's grace is gone, you understand? She can't angel up and protect us. We can't fight both heaven and hell!"

"_Claire._" The nameless voice drifted through my head. It sounded a lot like Alastair but I couldn't be sure. I'm not positive which bugged me out more the fact that it kept repeating my name or that it sounded like Alastair.

"Guys," Anna's voice snapped me out of my trance. "The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" Sam asked.

"It's weird." She answered a glazed looking in her eyes. "Like a recording. A loop. It says: 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or...'"

"Or what?" Dean asked a nervous look on his face.

"Or we'll hurl him back to damnation."

I stood up quickly noting the scared look on Dean's face. My eyes locked onto his and I could see the pleading look on his face.

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" Sam asked, brother mode kicking in.

"To what? To kill them?" Sam nodded. "Nothing we could get to. Not right now."

"Okay, wait. I say we call Bobby, we get him back from Hedonism..."

"Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?" Sam asked.

"I don't know! But we gotta think of something!"

It was quiet as the gravity of the situation set in. Dean turned and left the room leaving the rest of us shocked. Sam then took his leave and then Anna leaving just me and Ruby. It was silent while I stared at the floor the gears turning in my head. I could feel the demon's eyes on me.

"What if we don't fight."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"What if we don't fight. We just have to get the titans in one room and let them duke it out. Angels and Demons. We won't even have to fight – they will be so enamored in annihilating one another we just have to stand on the sidelines and watch."

Ruby scoffed. "Is it a bad idea?" I asked.

"That's the best damn idea I've heard all day. I'll tell Sam and you go let Dean and Anna know." With that said Ruby turned an walked away.

I didn't move though. I wasn't sure how long I had sat there staring at nothing but it felt like a while before Ruby walked in saying everything was set. I nodded absently before looking up at the demon. She was gonna risk her life to help us.

I shook my head before walking out into the chilly night air. I walked down the path that led to where the impala was parked. I pulled my jacket tighter as I walked the chilly breeze nipping at my exposed skin. I glanced around at the dark woods, purely out of habit, before I reached the impala.

I froze at the sight. The impala's windows were fogged up, the car was moving slightly, but the loud moans that could be heard proved it. I felt the raw emotion building up in my chest: the anger, the hurt. So this is what heart-break felt like?

I quickly wiped the falling tears from my face before I turned back towards the path I had just come from. I stormed my way back to the house the anger building with each step. I knew what I had to do and I'll be damned if anyone tried to stop me.

I quickly walked back up to the barn not bothering to hide my emotions as I entered. Ruby was startled by my entrance, I could tell.

"Shh. Sam's sleeping." Ruby hissed stopping me in my tracks.

"Then leave him a note. We're gonna get the ball rolling."

"Oh really. What are you gonna do?"

"Dean's gonna take care of the angels. We're going after Alastair." I replied angrily.

"Whoa, hold up! We're not going anywhere. Do you have any idea what Alastair will do to you if you show up?"

"I really don't care, Ruby. The sooner we get this over with the sooner everyone can move on!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ruby asked and I could tell she was genuinely concerned.

"This is what I get for letting my heart win." I sighed before turning back around and marching outside. "I'm going after him with or without you!"

As soon as my feet hit the dirt of the road Ruby appeared at my side. I wasn't sure how long we had been walking along the road before we came to a stop.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Ruby asked.

"Light it." I replied stonily before she took the lighter and burned the bag in her hands. She dropped the bag before turning to me a nervous look on her face.

"Hello, Ruby. And Claire. Isn't this a surprise?"

"Alastair." Ruby replied. I kept my mouth shut just in case.

"I have to say, I'm surprised to find you two out in the open like this."

"Yeah? Desperate times."

"That they are. You looking for this?" Alastair asked pulling Ruby's knife from behind his back. My eyes widened at the sight of the knife. I glanced over at Ruby who was trying to play it cool but I could tell on the inside she was a wreck. "Your gawky human friend gave it to me."

"Keep it. We just came to talk."

"About what? About how a demon is protecting an angel? We really must revoke your membership."

"Look, I know I'm not employee of the month. But this? I never wanted to be in the middle of this."

"Why are you here?" Alastair asked.

"We'll give you the angel." I answered. Alastair's piercing gaze landed on me.

"Will you?" He looked at me skeptically. "And in return?"

"Ruby and the Winchester's walk away. Both Winchesters."

"This angel business, it's none of our business." Ruby added.

"Hm. Tell me Claire what do you want out of this."

"I want you to take me to Lilith." I answered causing him to scoff. He shook his head before turning to look at Ruby.

"You know, I'd always heard that you were a devious, cowardly little slut." He walked forward placing himself in between me and Ruby. "You don't disappoint. And Claire. I always thought betrayal was your sister's cup-of-tea, but then again twins are very much alike."

"So, what do you say?" Ruby asked. I turned to face Alastair who was now behind us.

"It's interesting. Prudent."

I jumped when I felt a pair of arm wrap around me. I struggled when I realized there were demons holding onto me and Ruby. I tried pulling away only to get yanked back.

"But..." Alastair continued. "Let me make you a counteroffer." He ran the knife lightly along Ruby's jaw.

* * *

I screamed in pain as Alastair ran the knife through the skin of my thigh. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks as the knife left my skin.

"Tell me where the angel is."

"No," I grunted. I looked over at Ruby who was panting loudly from the torture Alastair had just inflicted on her. Alastair rolled his eyes before he once again set to work slicing through my skin. Another scream erupted from my throat causing Ruby to wince and Alastair to grin maliciously.

The pain was blinding, but it didn't stop even after Alastair moved from me back to Ruby. I've noticed that Alastair had a tendency to talk as he tortured, which is probably what made it all the more worse. I was surprised when Alastair took the binding away from Ruby's mouth to let her talk as long as she didn't smoke out of her body.

"Now you tell me where that angel is."

"No." Ruby replied.

"No?"

"No. I tell you...you kill me. But I'll show you."

Alastair chuckled before turning to me. "You'll be staying here as my leverage. Maybe you will give Ruby here a little incentive."

I moaned in pain as the two demons disappeared leaving me alone in the room. I whimpered as the pain wracked my body. I closed my eyes ready to give up before a thought occurred to me. What if I called for help. Angels were supposed to be saviors, right?

"Cas, can you hear me?" I called out softly. "Please, if you can hear me. I need help."

I didn't move a muscle hoping it would work. I placed so much hope in it I was devastated when nothing happened. How could I be so stupid? I was angry and hurt meaning I wasn't thinking. I was scared. It felt hopeless.

I struggled against the restraints before letting out a scream of frustration before the sobs took over. I trembled the coldness of the room taking a hold of my body. I closed my eyes once again ready to just let go when I heard the flapping of wings.

My eyes snapped open and to my dismay it was not the angel I had been calling for. Standing there with a smug look on his face was Uriel. I groaned as the restraints were loosened and my arms and legs were free. My clothes appeared in front of me and I quickly got dressed ignoring the angel's gaze.

Once I was ready Uriel grabbed my arm and just like that a weird feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach before we were suddenly in the middle of the woods. Standing there was Castiel a pitying look on his face. The only thing keeping me standing at this point was Uriel's hold on my arm.

Castiel moved forward and put his middle and index fingers to my forehead before a warm sensation passed through my body. I suddenly felt rejuvenated, like I had just slept for a few days. I reached down to the hem of my shirt and pulled it up revealing the smooth flat muscles of my stomach. Where there should have been wounds from Alastair's torture there was nothing but smooth skin. The only reminder of the torture was the blood on my clothes.

My inspection was cut short as Uriel yanked me forward as we headed towards a familiar barn. The one Sam, Dean, and Anna were supposed to be at. Now I knew why Uriel had me with them. I was his hostage, his leverage.

As we approached the door, it swung open revealing Dean sitting with Anna and Sam standing but still no Ruby. Dean quickly jumped up when his eyes landed on me; Castiel, Uriel, and I walked in, well I was more like dragged in as the doors slammed shut behind us.

As we came to a stop Sam put his arm in front of Anna in a protective gesture. I tried pulling away from Uriel but I couldn't break the vice grip he had on my arm. I looked up at Dean who had a look of concern and anger on his face as he glared at Uriel's grip on my arm.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," Cas spoke up.

"How? How did you find us?" Sam asked. Uriel and Castiel's gaze turned to Dean who looked down ashamed.

"Dean?"

"I'm sorry," Dean said softly looking at Anna.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Anna's gaze then turned to me. "Because they gave him a choice." Sam's gaze turned to me also. "They either kill me or they kill Claire. I know how their minds work."

I was in shock. They gave Dean a choice and he chose me? I looked at Dean, the anger and the pain was slowly washing away. Anna leaned up to Dean and lightly kissed him before she pulled away.

"You did the best you could. I forgive you." Anna then turned to the angels. "Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."

Uriel's grip on me slackened before he pushed me forward. I stumbled past Anna and would have fallen if Dean hadn't caught me. He helped me straighten up before he wrapped his arms tightly around me. I glanced behind us and saw the small smile on Anna's face before it was gone.

"I'm sorry." Castiel directed towards Anna.

"No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still, we have a history. It's just..."

"Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick."

I closed my eyes feeling guilty for wanting to get rid of Anna in the first place. The only reason I was pissed at her was because she slept with Dean. I could feel Dean's pain as he gripped onto me more tightly at what she had just said.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," Alastair's voice rang out. Everyone turned around to see Alastair and Ruby was being held up by two demons her abdomen was bleeding heavily.

"Well well, this is a surprise. How did you manage to get out Claire," Alastair asked looking at me. Dean's confused gaze turned to me. "Never mind that."

Uriel stepped forward causing a chain reaction. Dean, Anna, Sam and I moved out of the line of fire as the demons tossed Ruby to the ground. She quickly moved towards the side as well.

"How dare you come in this room you pussing sore." Uriel commented.

"Name-calling? That hurt my feelings. You sanctimonious, fanatical prick." My eyes widened in shock at what Alastair had just said...to Uriel nonetheless!

"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel demanded.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

"You know who we are and what we will do. I won't say it again. Leave now or we lay you to waste."

"I think I'll take my chances," Alastair hissed.

Uriel made the first move by attacking one of Alastair's lackeys before the other one joined the fight. Castiel went straight for Alastair and I was horrified as Castiel tried to smite Alastair but it didn't work. Alastair knocked Castiel back to the ground before leaning down and grabbing Cas by the throat. He started speaking something in Latin causing Cas to light up almost like he was sending Cas back to heaven.

Dean ran forward a crowbar in hand and hit Alastair straight in the face with it, knocking him off Cas.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. I am so disappointed." Alastair spoke as he moved towards me, Dean, and Sam. "You had such promise."

Alastair raised his hand and I felt the power choking me. I fell to my knees along with Sam and Dean as we all were choking. Alastair moved forward until he was in front of me.

"It's too bad I didn't get more time with you Claire. I could have taught you what I taught Dean over there."

That's when I felt it. The calmness. I glanced over at where Anna was and noticed the blue smoke entering her body. She was yelling at us to close our eyes, but I couldn't the sight was incredible. I wasn't the only one who couldn't look away because Alastair was so entranced his grip on the boys and me was released. The light was emanating from Anna and I didn't get to see what happened next.

Dean grabbed me and pulled me to him blocking me from the view in case anything happened he would take the blow. All was heard was Anna's screaming before a large gust of wind blew and everything was calm again.

I pulled back from Dean and looked up at him. His arm were still around me as his gaze met mine. Both of us were breathing hard but our eye contact wasn't broken until Sam cleared his throat. I looked over at the room and noticed Ruby was struggling to get up, Cas had a relieved look on his face, and Uriel had a stony frown.

Dean knelt down and picked up Ruby's knife that Alastair had dropped during his fight with Cas.

"What are you guys waiting for? Aren't you gonna go get Anna?" Dean asked. "Unless of course, you're scared."

"This isn't over," Uriel responded angrily glaring at Dean. He went to move forward but Castiel's arm stopped him.

"Oh, it looks over to me junk-less."

The room was tense until the flapping of wings was heard and they were both gone. It felt like there was a weight lifted off our shoulders. Ruby came over holding her stomach.

"You okay?" Sam asked her.

"Not so much."

"What took you so long to get here?" Dean asked.

"Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery." She retorted. "I was only being tortured."

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together, all at once...angels and demons? It's a damn good plan."

Sam glanced at me and I nodded slightly allowing him to take the credit for my plan. "Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass best to get out of their way and let them fight."

"Now you're just bragging."

"So I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh?" Sam asked. "She must be happy wherever she is."

Dean's gaze locked with mine. "I doubt it."

"Well now that it's over, I'm gonna lay low for a while. Who knows where Alastair is." Ruby commented walking towards the barn door. Sam walked out with her.

"What in the hell were you thinking?" Dean asked turning to me as soon as they were out of sight. "Sam said you were going after the angels, why were you with Alastair?"

"I wasn't thinking. I was so angry that I felt going after Alastair would be better than going to the angels."

"Angry about what?"

"If you're gonna have sex and hope to keep it a secret: don't do it in the back of your frigging car." I replied before pushing past him.

* * *

I sat quietly on the hood of the Impala next to Sam while Dean leaned against the side. Both guys were drinking beers. We were situated off to the side of the road just watching the scenery around us.

"Can't believe we made it out of there," Dean spoke up.

"Again." Sam added. The guys clinked bottles better each took a drink.

"I know you heard him."

"Who," Sam asked.

"Alastair. What he said." My gaze found the ground as Dean talked. "About how I had promise."

"I heard him." Sam confirmed.

"Your not curious?"

"Dean, I'm damn curious." After Sam said that I slid off the hood and onto the ground. I turned away from the guys and stopped at the edge of the ditch next to the road and stared out at the fields my arms crossed over my chest.

"But you're not talking about hell and I'm not pushing." Sam finished. It was quiet for a minute before Dean spoke up again.

"It wasn't four months you know." I turned away from the scenery and looked at Dean, my arms still crossed.

"What?" I asked finally entering the conversation.

"It was four months up here, but down there...I don't know time's different. It was more like 40 years."

"My God." Sam replied struggling to find the right words. I was shocked to say the least. There were just no words.

"They...They sliced and carved and tore at me in way that you..." Dean's voice broke. "Until there was nothing left. And then suddenly I would be whole again. Like magic. Just so they could start it all over."

I shook my head, horrified at what he was telling us. I knew it was bad but I never thought it was that bad.

"And Alastair, at the end of every day, every one, he would come over and he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack if I put souls on. If I started the torture. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For 30 years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it any more, Sammy."

Dean's voice broke. I turned my back to them not wanting to see the tears and the pain in his eyes. "I couldn't. Then I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls."

I took in deep breaths trying to keep myself together as I listened to Dean break down.

"The things that I did to them." I turned back around to see the tears falling down his face.

"Dean," Sam cleared his throat trying to find the words. Sam glanced at me before continuing. "You held out for 30 years. That's longer than anyone would have."

Dean closed his eyes tightly trying to stop the tears but it didn't work. He reached up and wiped them away.

"How I feel...This...Inside me. I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

I walked up to Dean and wrapped my arms around him when Sam didn't say anything. I felt Dean's arms wrap around me tightly before he sobbed again. I tried my hardest not to let the tears fall as Dean cried. I looked over at Sam just as the first few tears fell down my face.

"_You know. You scream just as much as he did." Through the pain I was able to give him a confused look. "Let me tell you there is nothing more pleasing that hearing someone scream. Now Dean, oh Dean. He was a screamer. I gave him a choice though either I could torture him or he could help me."_

"_Dean would never do that," I snapped in pain. I let out another bone chilling scream as he dug his fingers into my wound._

"_He was a most thrilling student. You should have seen him. For a while all he would moan about was you and Sam. I feel like I know you two so well."_


	14. Not Your Business

_**Chapter 14 – Not Your Business**_

I slowly opened my eyes, before quickly closing them again. There was a bright light emanating from the driver's seat. I blinked a few times before adjusting to the light. I glanced in the backseat and noticed Sam was stretched out still sleeping. I then looked at the source of light and found Dean reading something.

"Dean, what are you doing?" I asked groggily rubbing at my eyes. When Dean didn't say anything I took a glance at what he was reading. "Dean, we just got done with a case. Why are you looking for another one? Haven't you heard of taking a break?"

"Haven't you heard of telling the truth?" Dean retorted.

"What are you talking about?"

"Anna told me. You're a frigging angel," Dean hissed throwing down the paper and getting out of the car.

"So that's why you've been ignoring me for the past month?" I got out right after him slamming the door shut.

"You didn't think it was important enough to let me or Sam know that you were stocked up on holy juice?"

"I'm not stocked up on anything! I'm missing half of my grace!" I yelled right back. Dean stopped a confused look on his face. "She didn't tell you that huh? Well that's surprising!"

"Half?"

"Yeah, Dean. Half! Alex had the other half and now she's in hell." I stopped shaking my head. I took a deep breath and placed my hands on my hips before looking over at Dean.

"Claire-"

"I don't know, what it feels like to go to hell and then come back but you know what I feel?" I asked. "Since the day you went to hell, there was a part of me missing. Losing Alex and half of my grace, my soul, didn't hurt as much as losing you did."

"I'm sorry." Dean whispered.

"I'm sorry? That's all you have to say?" I asked angrily.

"What do you want me to say?" Dean snapped. I shook my head in disbelief before glancing back at the impala where Sam was beginning to wake up. I was surprised he had stayed asleep this long.

"I'm not an angel. Just because I have a grace doesn't mean anything. According to Cas my grace isn't even in hell. I have no clue where it is. So please save me the truth speech because honestly, it was none of your goddamn business to begin with."

"What's going on?" Sam's voice cut through the silence. I didn't look over at Sam but I kept my gaze on Dean. He did the same before looking at the ground then Sam.

"Dean's been looking for another job. We were just arguing about taking a break. Right, Dean?"

Dean gave me the look before turning back to Sam. "Yeah."

Sam scoffed. "We just finished a job like two hours ago."

"Adrenaline's still pumping I guess."

"I am all for working, I really am but you've got us chasing cases nonstop for like a month now. We need sleep."

"We can sleep when we're dead." Dean retorted.

"You're exhausted," I said directing it at Dean.

"I'm good."

"No you're not," Sam cut in. "You're running on fumes, and you can't run forever."

"And what am I running from?" Dean asked. I scoffed causing Sam to shake his head.

"From what you told us. Or are we pretending that never happened?"

Dean shook his head before opening the door to the impala and pulling out the newspaper he had discarded earlier in our argument.

"Stratton, Nebraska. Farm town. Man gets hacked to death in a locked room inside a locked house. No signs of forced entry."

"Sounds like a ghost," Sam answered. I rolled my eyes at Sam's answer. He was encouraging the behavior!

"Yes, it does."

Sam groaned before throwing himself into the backseat of the impala tiredly. I shook my eyes as Dean's gaze turned to me.

"What else did Anna not tell me?" Dean asked softly.

"I'm a flesh and blood Angel. I'm not technically an angel just a descendant of angels. There's all this talk about me protecting seals and my blood being the key to something...I just..." I trailed off before wrapping my arms around myself.

"I'm sorry I snapped." I finished. "I didn't want you guys knowing anything until I knew what was going on myself."

"So the screams, and dreams..." Dean trailed off.

"I have the grace to thank for those."

It was quiet before Sam's snoring broke through the quiet. I tried my hardest not to laugh but the look on Dean's face was priceless. I burst out laughing causing Dean to do the same thing. After a few minutes of laughing we had calmed down.

"Hey, I know telling us what happened down there was hard, but I'm glad you told us." I said softly before walking back towards the impala.

* * *

I sat silently in the back of the car, as we drove slowly along the dirt road leading to the house in question. From what we had gathered so far it looked like haunting. We had just passed the sign that noted it was for sale as the large farm house came into view.

"If I wasn't a hunter I would want a house just like this," I broke the silence as we got out of the car and headed up the porch steps.

"One that kills people?" Dean asked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes as Dean set to work picking the lock on the door. As Dean opened the door he walked in, then me, then Sam. I immediately wanted to head up the stairs but I veered to the right with the guys. As I looked around the living room I noticed there wasn't really much to the house.

"Boy, three bedrooms, two baths, one homicide. This place is gonna sell like hotcakes," Dean commented.

After Dean said that I couldn't help but shake the feeling like I was being watched. I glanced around the room before my eyes landed on the living room closet. I slowly made my way towards the door as Dean and Sam continued into the kitchen. As soon as I reached the door I quickly yanked the door open to reveal nothing but an empty closet.

I glanced around the inside before closing it again satisfied that there was nothing in there. I shook my head trying to get rid of the feeling as I walked into the kitchen where the guys were crowded over by the wall.

"It's probably a dumbwaiter. All these old houses had them," Sam rattled off.

"Know-it-all," Dean muttered as Sam walked away.

"What?" Sam asked stopping.

"What?" Dean repeated causing me to roll my eyes.

"You said..."

"What?"

"Never mind." Sam turned and continued along his path. A small grin graced Dean's face as he went the opposite way.

I moved back to the living room before I set my sights on the stairs leading up to the second floor. As soon as I hit the stairs so did the two guys, but I quickly made my way up first. We split up checking out all of the other rooms before congregating to one: the scene of the murder.

"No blood stains, fresh coat of paint. It's a bunch of bubkes." Dean said as Sam pulled out his EMF.

"The meter's all over the place," Sam spoke up referring to the annoying crackling noise coming from the EMF.

"You got power lines."

I glanced around the empty room before my sight stopped on the closet. Now I'm not sure what it was with the closets in this place but they were really starting to freak me out. I stood there was Sam opened the closet door.

Sitting on the floor of the closet what a baby doll head. Not a baby doll just the head, which had its hair cut off and it was all dirty like someone had rolled it through some dirt. Sam took a step back as his gaze landed on the head.

"Ugh," Dean scoffed seeing the head. I glanced between the Winchesters standing on either side of me before looking back at the head. "Well, that's super disturbing."

"Think it got left behind?" Sam asked.

"By who?" I retorted.

"Unless Bill Gibson like to play with doll heads." Dean added causing Sam to let out a small laugh.

I glanced out the window before doing a double take. Coming up the road was a SUV and a moving truck.

"Guys, we've got a problem," I spoke up. They turned to the window at the sound of cars approaching.

"Uh-oh."

"You said this place was still for sale," Dean pointed out Sam's crucial mistake.

"Apparently it's not." We quickly made our way back down the stairs and into the foyer.

"Good going boy genius, I don't have an ID on me." I muttered as we exited the house and quickly walked down the porch steps.

"Can I help you?" The older man asked walking in front of his family in a protective manner.

"Hi, are you the new owner?" Sam greeted.

"Yeah, and you guys are...?"

"This is Mr. Stanwyck. I'm Mr. Babar and this is our intern Ms. Gold. County Code Enforcement." Dean and Sam both flashed their badges before quickly putting them away.

"We had the building inspected last week. Is there a problem?"

"Asbestos in the walls, a gas leak. Yeah, I'd say we got a problem." Sam replied laying it on thick to the people.

"Asbestos? Meaning what?" The mother asked.

"Meaning until the house is up to code, it's uninhabitable."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying we can't stay here?" He asked.

"It's a big health hazard. Trust me, you don't want to," I replied knowing there was a double meaning behind my words.

"Hold up." The other adult male spoke up. "We just drove 400 miles."

"There's a motel just down the road," Dean replied. "Until this gets cleaned up, I suggest you stay there."

"All right, and what if we don't?" the man retorted.

"Well, you get a fine or you go to jail. Pick your poison," Dean replied not backing down.

The man glanced between us and his family. "One Night." The teenager looked horrified. "One night, and then I'll take care of everything ASAP, I promise."

"Another motel? Awesome, dad!" The teen replied sarcastically. "I hope this one has hooker sheets like the last one."

I smirked before turning around and walking back towards the Impala which was on the other side of the house. I glanced back up towards one of the windows on the second floor and froze when I noticed a figure standing in the window.

I blinked hoping it wasn't my imagination, and to my dismay there was no longer anything in the window. Dean and Sam walked past, snapping me out of my staring.

"We need to figure this out and fast," Sam said as we walked to the car.

* * *

I groaned in frustration as I was once again left at the motel while the guys went off to check out the cleaning lady who found the body. I peeked out the window and noticed that after we left we didn't even stick around to make sure the family left.

I quickly grabbed my coat and hightailed it out of the motel room. Not that I enjoyed going against Dean's wishes it's just that I'm a human being, not a dog. If I wanted to leave I would. I shook my head thinking about Dean as I walked silently along the deserted highway road.

He remembered hell.

My chest constricted as I thought about how torn up Dean was when he was explaining it to me and Sam. I've only seen emotion like that once from him and that was when Sam had died. I shuddered at the memory before I picked up the pace.

"_How I feel...This...Inside me. I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."_

I couldn't get those words out of my head. Dean tore into innocent souls without blinking an eye. It tore at me thinking about the pain he had to go through, but if that stupid idiot would have let me make that deal it could have been avoided! _But then it would have been me in that situation._

I hadn't realized I had walked as far as I did until my feet hit the dirt road that led to the farm house. I stopped moving when I caught sight of the moving van still sitting there and the family moving boxes to the house. Oh no!

I jumped when a section of the weeds in the field next to me moved. I gazed cautiously at the weeds getting a very bad feeling about them. I took a step back but nothing happened. I whipped my phone out before dialing Dean's number.

"_Yeah?_" He answered.

"We have a problem." I replied gazing at the house in front of me.

"_What? What happened?_" Dean's worried tone surprised me a bit.

"They didn't leave."

"_What?_"

"The family, they didn't leave. They're still at the house and moving boxes in as we speak."

"_What are you doing there, Claire? I told you to stay at the motel._"

"I'm not a damn dog, Dean." I scoffed. "Listen, as soon as you guys are done swing back by the house. If they're here the only thing we can do is sit back and wait."

"_We'll be there as soon as we're done._" I flipped my phone shut as the weeds started rustling again.

I'm not sure why but it was really starting to freak me out. I reached for my gun just as the culprit made it's appearance. It was the family's dog, the black and white of it's fur stuck out against the dead brown of the weeds.

"Hey there!" I grinned kneeling down as the dog walked right up to me. I pet the dog before I heard the young boy calling for the dog. I stayed kneeling down allowing for the weeds to hide me before the dog, Buster, took off towards its owner.

I sighed thinking about the whole thing. I had a life and was on my way to my degree and possibly a family just...three years ago. What would things be like if Azazel hadn't killed Jeremy? Where would I be now? Where would the Winchesters be? Ellen and Jo? Would I ever get out of this alive? Live to be Bobby's age?

All these questions swirled through my mind causing me to lose track of the time. By the time I had pulled myself out of the past the sun was long gone leaving me there sitting along the road in the dark. I jumped when I heard the sound of twigs breaking behind me. I whipped out my gun and clicked the safety off just as the beams of a car's lights hit me.

I rolled my eyes when I noticed it was the Impala's head lights blinding me. I lowered my weapon just as Dean turned off his lights. I walked to the passenger's side where Sam had opened the door.

"Anything?" he asked referring to the house.

"No," I replied shaking my head. Honestly I didn't know because I was too busy thinking about the what ifs in life. Sam got back in allowing me to open the back down and slide in myself. I glanced up at the review mirror and noticed Dean was avoiding my gaze.

I glanced out the window as the car rolled silently up to the house. Sees as how we couldn't exactly march up there and tell them they had a ghost we had to sit back and just wait. I think that was what was gonna bug the Winchesters the most...the waiting.

"So, what now?" Dean asked.

"We could tell them the truth," Sam responded.

"Really?" Dean asked shocked.

"No, not really."

"Waiting it is," I finished as the car fell silent.

* * *

**Hey everyone! So I know this is really short but I hope you guys liked it and are still hanging in there! Stay tuned cause there's another chapter on the way!**


	15. Trust Me

_**Chapter 15 – Trust Me**_

I wasn't sure how long we had been sitting in the car. Maybe an hour or two but during that entire time no one said anything. I usually like the silence but right now it felt wrong. I jumped when I heard screaming coming from the house. Dean and Sam glanced at each other before jumping out, I was right behind them as we ran to the front door. Dean pounded on the door hoping for an answer.

"We heard screams. What's going on?" Dean demanded as he and Sam pushed their way into the house.

"You three?" The father asked stepping forward and accusatory look on his face. "Did you touch my daughter?"

"What? No!"

"Who are you guys?" the father asked.

"Relax, please," Sam tried calming the man down. I moved to the side as Buster, their dog, bolted out the front door. I shook my head before turning back to the frightened family. "You have a ghost."

"A ghost?" the father asked.

"Way to put it bluntly Sam," I commented earning a couple of stares in my direction.

"I told you!" The teenage girl shouted just as he little brother yelled, "It's the girl!"

"Both of you relax," the father demanded trying to calm the kids that just swarmed him. "What are you guys playing at?" He finally asked turning to us.

"Your family is in danger. You need to get out of the house now," Dean explained in the only frightening way he could.

Right after Dean said that all the lights went out. It was like someone had cut the power.

"What the hell?" the Uncle, Ted, said looking around.

"Don't move," I commanded just as Dean said "Nobody move."

The room fell silent as the family huddled together. I glanced over at Dean and Sam before quickly scanning the room for anything suspicious. I froze when I heard the whining and whimpering of a dog. It sounded like it was being tortured.

"Buster!" the younger boy shouted. The father and Ted quickly rushed past us and out the still open front door.

"Wait!" I called after them. I rushed out after the two men leaving Sam and Dean behind. They were calling out for the dog before another loud cry rang out from the dog. Both men rushed down the porch stairs with me hot on their heels. I turned to see Sam and Dean were following close behind. We all came to a complete stop as we turned the corner of the house.

On the ground was a lot of blood. I knew immediately that's what it was especially since against the moonlight it almost looked black and the fact that it looked wet was a dead give away. There was a long trail of the thick blood as it led to the moving truck.

"What the hell?" Ted asked following the trail with his eyes. Written in blood on the side of the van was 'Too Late'. My eyes widened a bit before I turned to the guys who were giving each other the look.

"Buster!" the boy shouted as the three remaining family members appeared.

"Go back inside! GO!" The father yelled at them.

"Guys we have to do something." I whispered to the Winchesters.

"Look, we are not the bad guys, but you're in danger," Dean tried reasoning.

"First things first. You gotta get your family out of here," Sam said quickly. The father nodded before he and Ted quickly rushed inside to get their family.

"Head to the motel I was talking about. You'll be safe there," Dean explained as everyone quickly rushed back to their vehicles.

"What are you three gonna do?" The father, Brian, asked.

"Oh no," Dean said taking in the sight of his now deflated tires. "Oh, come on! Oh come on!"

I quickly rushed to the back of the car with Sam and he opened the truck. To my utter horror and Sam's too we took in the sight of the _empty_ trunk. All of our weapons were gone, there was literally nothing back there.

"Dude the guns are gone!" Sam shouted at Dean. I quickly rushed to the front of the vehicle before swinging the back door open. "Basically everything is gone!"

I threw my hand under the seat and swept for the extra gun I usually hid under there. My heartbeat sped up when my hand was met with nothing but air. I glanced around the back of the car and noticed that wasn't the only thing missing...my cell phone was gone too.

"My back up AND my cell phone are gone!" I exclaimed slamming the door shut.

"The truck's no good!" Brian yelled as he jogged back towards us. "Both tires slashed."

"What kind of ghost messes with a man's wheels?" Dean yelled at the house.

"Oh my God, what's going on," Kate, the teenager asked nearing a panic attack. She was looking at something behind us before letting out a blood curdling scream. "She's there! She's there!"

All the adult turned to look at what she was screaming about. Upon turning I caught a glimpse of something as it ducked down in the weeds. My eyes widened as I turned to Sam and Dean. The guys were shinning their flashlights in the direction.

"Where?" Susan, the mother, asked the hysterical teen.

"She was right there in the woods!"

"Guys, what kind of ghost can go outside?" I asked.

"You wanna stay and found out?" Sam asked rhetorically.

"Everybody inside!" Dean called out.

"Are you crazy? We need to get the hell outta here!" Ted yelled at Dean.

I stood next to Sam and continued to look out at where Kate said she saw the ghost. I noticed Sam glance down a me a few times while Dean told Ted that the ghost was hunting us. This whole situation had me freaked out, not only because we had no weapons but I hadn't faced a ghost in a while.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I asked before turning around and facing the family.

"You're shaking," Sam replied reaching down and pulling my hand into his.

"Nerves," I answered pulling my hand back to me.

"Everybody back inside now. Move!" Dean commanded.

Everyone did as they were told as we all raced back into the house. Dean looked at me and I nodded before running into the kitchen. Thankfully the family had enough common sense to have like two huge salt refill bottles laying in one of the kitchen boxes.

Grabbing the salt I raced back into the living room and tossed one of the bottles to Dean, keeping one for myself. I ran to the other side of the fireplace and started pouring salt in a semi-circle meeting him in the middle where our salt lines connected.

"Whatever's outside, it can't get into this circle." Dean explained as the family gave us weird looks. "As long as the salt line is unbroken, this is the safest place to be."

"Safe from ghosts?" Brian asked sarcastically.

"Ya," I answered just as snidely.

"Okay, I'm not listening to this anymore. Come on. I gotta get my family out. Let's go."

"Nobody's going anywhere until we kill this thing," Dean demanded as he stood up.

"Sir, please, this is what we do. Just trust us," Sam pleaded after realizing Dean's method just wasn't working.

"You hunt ghosts?" Danny, the boy, asked.

"That's right," Dean answered.

"Like Scooby-Doo?" Danny had a grin on his face. I smiled slightly before looking over at the guys seeing what they would say.

"Better," Dean answered. The smile immediately fell from my face.

"You saw her outside, right?" Sam asked Kate. "Okay, does she look like either one of these girls?"

Sam showed her the pictures of the former owner's wife and daughter. She studied the pictures closing before pointing to one. I glanced over at Dean, who was carefully scanning the room.

"Her! She was paler and a lot dirtier, but that was her."

"That's the girl in the walls!" Danny exclaimed looking at the picture his sister had pointed out.

"So it was the daughter?" Sam asked looking at me and Dean.

"I thought you guys said she was cremated." I said quietly looking up at Dean.

"That girl in the picture, she's dead?" Susan asked.

"She killed herself inside this house," Sam answered.

A look of horror crossed the mother's face before Dean nodded his head away from the family. Both Sam and I moved in the direction Dean was nodding which was inside the circle but a little away from the family. I was standing in front of the guys while they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"So, what, the maid got her story wrong? Rebecca wasn't cremated?" Dean asked.

"Unless her spirit's attached to something inside the house." Sam replied.

"Guys this place was bare when we got here. What would she have been attached to?" I asked.

"Well, she hung herself in the attic right?" Dean asked.

"You wanna babysit while Claire and I'll check it out?" Sam asked. Dean motioned for the go ahead.

"Look, I don't care who hung themselves where. Maybe something's going on, but-"

"It's a spirit," Dean cut Ted off.

"It's some backwoods hillbilly bitch, and I'm not about to sit around here waiting for her to go all _Deliverance_ on my ass."

"Nobody's leaving the house," Dean replied steadily.

"Stop me!" Ted yelled. As Ted tried to leave Dean slammed the guy up against the wall. They spoke in hushed tones as Sam stopped Brian from going to Ted's aid. Dean threatened to shoot Ted claiming he had a gun.

"Dude, you don't have a gun," Sam lowered his voice.

"And? I'm not letting that bastard or anyone else die tonight"

"You cool?" Sam asked worried.

"Go." Dean answered holding his flashlight out to me.

"Dean-"

"Go, Claire." I rolled my eyes, grabbing the flashlight, before following Sam.

I caught up to the giant by the time he had reached the stairs. He gave me a knowing look before going up first. I clicked the flashlight on as soon as we hit the second floor. I followed Sam down the hall leading to a set of stairs leading up.

As soon as we reached the attic I wasn't surprised by what was up there. A thin layer of dust covered everything and I mean _everything_. I knocked a few cobwebs out of my way as I broke away from Sam and started looking around the attic.

I walked behind a set of boxes and started brushing away dust to get a good look at what was written on the boxes. I started from the top and moved towards the bottom. I found a box with the name 'Rebecca' on it.

"Sam, what was the daughter's name?"

"Rebecca." Sam replied.

I reached down and tried pulling the box out but stopped when I noticed the large stack of boxes on top of it. I grabbed the highest box and started making another stack so I could reach the box. Once the box was uncovered I pulled it open. I shifted through several knick knacks before my hands landed on the hard bindings of a journal.

"Sam, I think I got something." I spoke as I stood up.

"What is is?" he asked coming around the pile of boxes.

"I think this was Rebecca's diary." I held my flashlight up, lighting the cover.

I about dropped the diary when a loud piercing screech sounded through the house. I looked at Sam who glanced at me before we both took off towards the attic door. With both the diary and flashlight in hand I ran after Sam down two flights of stairs before we came upon the sight.

Dean was on the ground trying to fight with our ghost. I took in the situation and noticed that they were inside the salt circle and the girl looked pretty solid for a ghost. She was about to stab Dean when Sam intervened.

"Hey!" The dirty girl turned to me and Sam. In retaliation Sam turned his flashlight back on and had it pointing straight in her face. The girl screamed in pain as the flashlight lit up her unnaturally florescent eyes. She covered her face before making a mad dash towards the closet and disappearing.

Sam went to the closet while I went to Dean's side. I knelt down next to him and made sure he wasn't harmed before Sam gave us a confused/shocked look. I pulled Dean up before the three of us quickly exited the house. Upon doing so Brian came around the house's corner.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked Dean.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Hiding."

"All, right, go get them." Dean repeated himself again before Brian jumped into action and went to get his family.

"So it's not a ghost?" Dean asked frantically.

"It's just a girl?" Sam asked.

"It's not just a girl, it's psycho Nell. I'm telling you, man. Humans."

"Then who in the hell is she?" I asked jumping into the conversation.

"Maybe it's the daughter, Rebecca? Maybe she didn't hang herself."

"Dude no, she'd have to be like 50 years old by now," Sam shot down the idea.

"I don't know. What did you guys find in the attic."

"Nothing much, just a lot of junk up there. Um but I did find this," I answered holding the little book up. "Rebecca's diary."

"I wish you found a howitzer. We gotta get this family safe. It's just a human, so they can make a run for it. We gotta hold her off."

The mother, daughter, and father came running from along side the house. Brian called out for Danny and Ted saying they needed to go. Ted came running over saying he was good but there was still no Danny. Both parents were yelling for their son when Ted turned to Dean.

"Told you it was some crazy bitch."

"Yes, you did," Dean replied annoyed.

"Head to town. We'll take it from here," Sam spoke up looking at Brian. I glanced around trying to keep an eye out for the crazy girl. The family was desperately calling out for Danny who still had not shown up.

"Brian, where is he?" Susan asked.

"Danny!" Brian yelled before the mother went into hysterics calling out for her son. The two started to argue. Susan didn't want to leave without Danny while Brian was telling her to take Kate and go.

"She's right!" Dean cut in. "Until we find your son the safest place for you right now is in the shed."

"I am not going in there either!" Kate complained looking at the old, worn and creepy shed.

"Yes you are. It is the best defense," Dean retorted. I could tell these people were getting on his nerves. "Windows are boarded up. It's got one door. It's our best shot right now. Trust me!"

"Suse, Kate, go. Go!" Brian whispered to his family.

"I'll go with them," I said more to Dean than Sam. "In case anything happens."

"Are you-"

"Yeah," I cut Dean off before hurrying to catch up to the two.

I reached them just as they got to the shed. I ushered both in the shed before glancing around and going in myself. I closed the rickety door behind me before turning to look at the contents of the shed.

"Okay, we need to barricade the door." I spoke softly to the two frightened women.

"With what?" Kate replied back looking around.

"Anything." I noticed there was a large wooden organizer holding tools and such leaning against the wall. I started pushing against it hoping to use it as leverage against the door. Once they got the idea we pushed the unit against the door before we sat back and just waited.

I could hear Sam and Brian yelling for Danny outside meaning that Dean and Ted must have gone back into the house to look for the missing boy. I shook my head before turning to look at the two in the shed with me. Susan was holding onto her daughter tightly as though the world depended on it.

"Why is this happening to us?" Susan asked softly.

"You guys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," I answered. The silence was almost deafening as we waited for news of Danny. All three of us jumped when there was a banging against the door. I heard Sam calling my name through the door so I quickly moved the tools out of the way before opening the door.

Sam and Brian entered the shed before I closed the door and barricaded it again. I watched as Brian walked over to his wife and daughter and embraced them. I glanced up at Sam who just shook his head in response. So they hadn't found Danny. I listened for any noises coming from outside but kept getting distracted by Brian's constant pacing.

"Look, why are we just standing here? Let's go in. Let's check the house."

"We have to wait for those guys to get back, okay?"

I jumped again as more knocking came to the door. Dean called out for Sam. I watched as the two men pushed away the barricade allowing Dean to enter. I wasn't the only to notice that it was just Dean coming back.

"Did you get Danny?" Susan asked.

"No." Dean said glancing at me and Sam a devastated look on his face. Right then I knew what had happened. Ted was dead.

"No? Well, where's Ted?" She asked.

"He's outside," Dean replied.

"Well, why doesn't he come inside?"

"Because I had to carry him out." Dean replied in the nicest way he could. But even then it was still brutal. "I'm sorry."

"You're..? What does that mean? What does that mean, you're sorry?" She asked as Dean set Ted's flashlight on the table.

"Are you saying that he's dead?"

"No. No, he's not saying that he's dead. You're not saying that, are you?"

"We were in the walls when she attacked. And I couldn't get to him in time."

I watched helplessly as Susan started to cry and leaning to her husband. I felt myself move back and into Sam who wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulder, slightly pulling me to him.

"Uncle Ted is dead?" Kate asked hysterically.

"I shouldn't have left him alone," Dean replied. "I'm very sorry."

Dean then quickly walked outside, closing the shed door behind him. I looked up at Sam, before pulling away and rushing after Dean. I hated seeing him broken down like this. With the quick strides I was taking I was by him quickly. He turned to me and he just had this look on his face. The same look John Winchester had when he saved me the night Jeremy died. He felt defeated.

"Hey," I spoke up grabbing Dean hand.

"I knew better than to leave him alone," Dean replied.

"You didn't know she was gonna attack, Dean. You couldn't have known."

"We were supposed to save these people not get them killed."

"And we are gonna save them. But standing out here and crying about it is not helping." I reached up and laid my hand softly on his cheek. "We're gonna get her. Trust me."

I pulled my hand away before turning back towards the shed. I was stopped though by Dean's hand on my arm pulling me back. As I turned back to him I was surprised when I felt his lips gently touch mine. I reached up, wrapping my arm around his neck and pulled him closer. After a moment he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said slightly short of breath.

"For what?" I asked our faces still millimeters apart.

"Not trusting you with the whole angel thing."

"Apology accepted," I replied before my lips found his again.

This time I pulled away from Dean completely. I smiled slightly as he reached out and pulled me back to him and we just stood there, me wrapped in his arms. I laid my head against his chest as we listened to the sobs coming from Susan inside the shed.

They were talking about someone named Andy. I glanced up at Dean just as the door to the shed opened. I looked over and noticed Brian walk out before coming to a stop and looking up at the house. I pulled away from Dean and nodded before walking back to the shed as he walked towards Brian.

As soon as I got to the shed I was stopped. Sam stood there the diary in his hand. I glanced from the book back up to the towering Winchester.

"What's up?"

"I found something." Sam answered before pushing past me and towards Dean. I followed behind him as we neared Dean and Brian. "Dean. We gotta talk."

Dean nodded to Brian before the three of us made our way up and into the house. We quickly made our way into the living room when Sam stopped.

"What is that?" Dean asked referring to the book in Sam's hand.

"Rebecca's diary." I answered for Sam.

"I just finished reading it." Sam continued.

"And?" Dean asked as he went over to the closet and checked to make sure the girl wasn't there.

"That girl back there? Pretty sure that was Rebecca's daughter."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Rebecca had a kid?" Dean asked equally shocked.

"It's all she talks about. Being pregnant, being ashamed of being pregnant."

"Jeez, rent _Juno_ and get over it." Dean commented as he walked back over to me and Sam.

"Wait, why kill herself after the baby?" I asked ignoring Dean's previous comment.

"Maybe because her dad called her a dirty little whore and said he was gonna lock the baby up where nobody could ever see it."

"Why would he say that?" Dean asked. Sam didn't answer.

I was a little confused on why she would be ash- OH! Ew. Daddy threatened to lock it up because daddy was both that and granddaddy. He got his own daughter pregnant.

"Oh gross," Dean answered after a few seconds.

"Yeah."

"So the daddy was the babydaddy too?"

"Dude was a monster, Dean," Sam answered.

"Wow, a story ripped from an Austrian headline. Humans, man."

"Wait so, he actually locked up his daughter-slash-granddaughter for all these years?" I asked causing Sam's gaze to switch from Dean to me.

"You saw her eyes. Has she ever seen light? She's barely human."

"Okay, so what then?" Dean asked. "She's been caged up like an animal and she busts out and ganks dear old Dad-slash-Granddad?"

"I guess."

"Well I can't say I blame her," Dean replied. I rolled my eyes at his statement.

"I'm sure her life was hell, Dean, but that doesn't mean she gets a free pass for murder spree."

"Like you know what hell's like," Dean bit back. His whole demeanor changed defensively after Sam had said that.

"Dean," I started shaking my head slightly.

"I didn't..." Sam trailed off not quite sure what to say.

"Forget it."

"So where do we find her?"

"Kid's gotta eat right?" Dean said.

"Huh?" I asked before Sam could.

"He kept her hidden, locked up, but he had to feed her, didn't he?"

"I guess."

"I think I know where. Claire go get Brian."

I nodded silently before I made my way back outside and noticed that he was standing with his wife by the shed. I made my way down the porch steps before I came up to the two.

"We think we know where Danny is," I said softly causing both to turn to me.

"Where?" Brian asked.

"Kitchen." I watched silently as Brian kissed his wife on the forehead before dashing off to the house. I motioned for Susan to go back into the shed. The woman nodded numbly before walking back in and sitting with her daughter.

I barricaded the door before moving away from it and stood in the middle of the room. I closed my eyes and listened hoping I could catch any signs of movement outside. I opened my eyes at the failed strategy only hearing the mother whisper comforting words to her daughter.

I jumped as the other two screamed when the partially boarded window to the shed was smashed to pieces. The crazy girl quickly pulled the boards from the window before disappearing. The two backed up, Susan was standing in front of her daughter protectively while I stood in front of both of them my eyes planted on the window.

Susan had grabbed a rake while I grabbed a shovel. In my experience shovels could do some damage if you hit the person just right. I glanced behind me and noticed that the two had their backs pressed against the wall eying the window across the small shed.

I face the window again only to hear screaming coming from behind me. I whipped around and noticed there was a knife in the wall between where the two had been standing. I pulled the two away from the wall and held them in the middle of the shed.

It was tense as we waited for any sign of movement. The sound of her pushing on wood met my ears. I glance over to one corner of the shed and noticed a weak spot where it had been covered with plywood. Susan quickly went over and put her rack against the ground trying to hold the wood steady.

I quickly followed the woman's example before adding my shovel to the mix. I ignored Kate and she cried for her mother. Susan and I could hold the wood any longer before in toppled over on us leaving us vulnerable.

I put my hand up to protect Susan as the crazy girl crawled through the opening and raised her knife before bringing it down. The knife met the flesh of my upper arm before she was yanked backwards and out of sight. Kate came running over and helped her mother and me out from under the wood.

The two huddled in the center of the room before I reached down and grabbed the shovel. All eyes were on the newly created hole just waiting for her to crawl back through. We listened to her screams of pain as the squishing noise of someone being butchered echoed. We all jumped when there was a sudden pounding at the door.

"Suse!" Brian's voice rang out. The three of us rushed to the door and pushed the big organizer away before Susan threw open the door. My hand immediately went up to my wound and nursed my arm as Brian stepped through the door, his hands covered in blood.

I ushered the family out of the shed and back towards the house giving Brian a grateful look. Susan was near tears when she saw her son Danny standing there. Danny, Susan, and Kate all sat themselves on the porch steps while I stood next to Brian as we stared at the body of Rebecca's daughter.

I caught a glimpse of Sam and Dean walking toward us out of the corner of my eye. I stared at the ground before they walked in front of us and took a good look at her dead body. Dean's eyes met mine as my hand fell away from the wound leaving a trail of blood to drip down my arm.

Why does it seem like I always get injured when on a hunt? Do I attract the clumsy injuries? Maybe I like getting hurt – that may make me a masochist but it makes Dean worry about me.

I turned away from the scene and away from Dean as I walked back towards the house where the family had gathered and were now hugging and the two kids were crying. I looked up at the house before closing my eyes. I stood silently and listened to the whispers and screams that filled my head.

I jumped nearly hitting the person who had touched me. As soon as my eyes snapped open, I came face to face with a startled Sam.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered softly.

"You wanna help me get the weapons from the basement?" He asked giving me a worried look. I nodded silently before following him into the house. As we made our way to the basement he kept throwing worried looks in my direction.

"Okay what?" I finally snapped. "Did I do or say something that makes you keep giving me these pitying looks?"

Sam slowly bent down and picked up some more of the impala's missing weaponry. He just shook his head and let out a soft sigh.

"What now you're not gonna tell me?"

"I saw the look on your face." Sam answered before finally looking at me.

"What look?"

"The same look you have on your face whenever you think about your sister or Jeremy."

"Oh? And what look is that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Longing. You wanna be normal and have a family but deep down you know that's not gonna happen. They're not coming back."

"Just like Jess isn't coming back," I snapped at the younger Winchester. My head started to pound as the words came out of my mouth on their own accord. "Neither is John, or your mother. You think I don't see the looks on your face, Sam?"

He looked taken aback for a moment as I lashed out. But I kept going.

"You think I didn't notice you having the nightmares? You toss and turn and call out her name, you may be over her but you'll never stop having the nightmares because her death was your fault, wasn't it Sammy?" I asked viciously. "You'll always have her death hanging over you, just like Dean's death was all your fault – so was your mother death and your father's. Hell, even Ash's death was your fault! When are you gonna stop killing people, Sam?"

As I yelled at the stunned Winchester I could feel the anger slowly seeping out of me. To be honest I didn't understand why I had snapped or why I had said all those things. How could I have said those things? I was horrified by what I had just said, but I knew the damage was done.

"Oh my god – Sam I'm so sorry, I don't why-"

"Just stop." Sam cut me off. His voice was soft and I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Sam, please, I didn't-"

"I said stop!" He yelled before taking a few deep breaths. "Let's just go."

I picked up the last few weapons my backup gun and cell phone before following after Sam trying to keep the tears from falling. As soon as we got outside and put the weapons in the back, the look on Dean's face told me he knew something was going on.

All while we were inside Dean had been fixing his tires and putting on the spare. Sam slammed the trunk door harder than necessary before walking towards the front of the car. The family had just walked over as Dean finished up with the tires.

"Thanks for the head start," Dean thanked.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you guys don't like the police?" Brian asked.

"It's sort of a mutual-appreciation thing, really." Sam answered.

"Well, thank you."

"Thank you," Susan repeated.

"You okay?" Dean asked the couple. Susan looked at her husband before answering.

"No, we're the opposite of okay but – we're together." The couple held hands and thanked the Winchesters again.

Finally we parted ways. I got into the impala as the guys did and we were off again. It was so repeated it almost felt like an endless cycle. I barely noticed that we had stopped grabbed some food and were on our way again. I barely notice as we came to a stop at an underpass to eat the food. I barely noticed that they had gotten out and I stayed frozen in the back.

I've felt numb from the moment I yelled at Sam and I knew why. I had probably destroyed the growing friendship we had in a matter of seconds. I honestly didn't know what had come over me but whatever it was...I was scared it may happen again.

I had finally gotten out when Dean started to unravel the foil that covered the food underneath. I leaned against the cement barrier next to Dean as I watched, in surprise, as he set the food down.

"You okay?" Sam asked just as surprised as I was.

"You know, I felt for those sons of bitches back there," Dean answered. "Life-long torture turns you into something like that."

"You were in hell, Dean," Sam replied. I shook my head as the two guys talked. "Look, maybe you did what you did there...but you're not them. They were barely human."

"Yeah, you're right. I wasn't like them. I was worse." Dean deadpanned. "They were animals, Sam, defending territory. Me? I did it for the sheer pleasure."

My breathing hitched when I heard that. "Dean, what are talking about?" I asked hoping I had heard wrong.

"I enjoyed it, Claire. They took me off the rack, and I tortured souls, and I liked it." Dean sounded disgusted with himself. "All those years, all that pain. Finally getting to deal some out yourself. I didn't care who they put in front of me. Because that pain I felt – it just slipped away."

I shook my head not believing what I was hearing. I knew that hell was bad and I knew that it had killed a part of Dean but I never knew it was this bad. I never knew that this was why hell had killed a part of him: because he liked the torture.

"No matter how many people I save," Dean continued, "I can't change that. I can't fill this hole. Not ever."

* * *

**Okay here's the second chapter for the day! I would like to dedicate these past two chapters to Auburn And Green! You are pretty awesome with your reviews, they always make my day! Hopefully this was as good as the rest of the story and I can't wait to read the reviews from all my readers who actually review! But thank you to everyone who reads!**


	16. Abracadabra

_**Chapter 16 - Abracadabra**_

I smoothed out the black dress pants I had on before moving to my dark blue blouse. After I was satisfied I put on the black jacket that matched my pants before slipping on the semi-comfortable heels. Once I was done I exited the bathroom and towards the guys.

I smirked in satisfaction as I notice Dean do a double take. Sam merely glanced at me before turning back to what he was doing on his laptop. I expected that...Ever since our encounter at the farm house we hadn't spoken at all. Dean noticed but didn't say anything on the subject – he knew better than to get involved.

I threw my street clothes in my duffel before turning back to the guys. Thankfully this was one of those covers that allowed me to actually go to the interview. I smiled at Dean who sent me a smile back before we headed towards the door and out to the impala. Shortly after Sam followed and we were on our way.

We walked this time sees as how we picked a motel close to where we were heading. I struggled to keep pace with the guys due to me not being used to wearing heels apposed to wearing regular trainers. I caught up to the guys when they finally stopped to watch some guy surrounded by a crowd of people and a camera crew.

"This is a demonstration..." the overly Gothic looking man told the crowd. "About demons and angels, love and lust."

"What a douche bag."

"Took the words right outta my mouth, Dean." I said raising an eyebrow at the man.

"All that stuff mixed up in my head," the guy continued.

"That's Jeb Dexter," Sam replied.

"I don't even wanna know how you know that," Dean retorted.

"He's famous, kind of."

"For what? Douche-baggery?"

Jeb kept going on about how dangerous this demonstration was and that no one touch him for their own safety. I wanted to go up there and hit the guy upside the head for whatever the hell he's doing. He started breathing deeply before suddenly started gasping for air.

"Go back to hell, demon!" Jeb shouted has he threw the deck of cards at the poor unsuspecting window. I scoffed as he asked the woman if that was he card and the crowd started clapping in amazement.

"You gotta be kidding me. A fake demon possession?" We turned and walked away from the group, Sam with a smile on his face, Dean with and irritated one, and I had a bored look. "I can't believe people fall for that crap."

"Its not all crap," Sam replied defending the magicians.

"What part of that was not a steaming pile of BS?"

"Okay, that was crap but that's not all magicians. It takes skill."

"I right, right. I forgot. You were actually into all this stuff, weren't you?" Dean asked his younger brother. My eyebrows shot up at this piece of information. "Yeah, you had, like, a deck of cards and a wand-"

"Dude I was 13. It was a phase."

"It just bugs me. Actually it offends me. You know, playing at demons and magic when the real thing will kill you bloody."

"Like a guy who drops dead of 10 stab wounds without a tear in his shirt?" Sam asked.

"That's what I'm talking about."

I shook my head as we continued on to the victim's hotel room. Once we arrived we announced who we were and found that his assistant was packing away all of the magic stuff. She nonchalantly let us into the room while throwing various items into various trunks.

"So did your boss have any enemies that you know of?" Dean asked.

"Vance had plenty of enemies," she responded.

"How so?" Sam asked as the assistant reached down and started folding up on of those really long multicolored cloths that seemed to go on forever.

"He would steal from other magicians – All the time."

"What would he steal?" I asked glancing over at Dean who's eyes were glued to the never ending cloth.

"Stage effects, close-up techniques. Anything he could get his hands on."

"Is that enough to get him killed?" Dean asked when the cloth came to an end.

"These guys take this stuff pretty seriously," she scoffed. The assistant's attention then became focused on a large white rabbit she found hiding under a hat. My head tilted slightly at the sight of the cute, innocent bunny.

"Did you find anything weird in Vance's stuff?" Dean asked moving the conversation along. "Well, weirder?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." She set the bunny down before going through some pockets on a coat. She then pulled out a tarot card, more specifically the one with the bleeding man with 10 swords sticking out of him.

"I'm guessing this didn't belong to Vance," Sam commented as he reached forward and gently took the card from the assistant.

"He hated card tricks. Never wanted them around, let alone in his precious cape."

"Thank you," I replied after a moment of silence as the guys stared at the card. "If we need anything else we'll give you a call."

The assistant nodded before continuing packing up all the magic tricks. Sam and Dean also thanked the woman before we made our way out of the room. As soon as we hit the hallway Dean handed me the card so I could look at it.

"You think it's a coincidence?" I asked looking at the card before handing it back. "I mean a guy dies of 10 stab wounds and there are 10 swords on that card."

"I don't believe in coincidences," Dean replied before tucking it into his jacket.

"Of course you don't," I replied sarcastically.

* * *

I laid lazily on the bed as Sam typed away at his computer. Dean had left earlier to follow up on a lead – he seemed more than happy to go by himself. I shifted back and forth on the bed until I had caught Sam's attention.

"Are you okay?" his voice broke through the silence of the room causing me to jump. It had surprised me because this was literally the first time he has talked to me specifically in weeks.

"Yeah, peachy keen. Why?"

"You seem antsy. Are you sure everything's okay?" He asked. I felt his penetrating gaze on my form.

"Yeah I'm-" I stopped as a sudden pain ripped through my body. My hand flew to my upper abdomen as the pain steadily got worse. I grunted in pain as another sharp pain hit.

"Claire?" Sam asked worried as he flew from the chair to my side. "What's happening?"

"I don't know!" I grunted in pain before letting out a short yelp when Sam tried to move me. Suddenly a hand shot out and pulled Sam away from me. The person then pushed me back so I was laying on my back. The hand was on my shoulder holding me from moving before the sound of Latin floated to my ears. I looked up at the person and was met with a pair of piercing blue eyes.

"Cas?" I asked weakly before I closed my eyes and with it the pain was gone.

* * *

Sam stood towards the side of the large dinning hall in the back as he waited for Dean to show up. Any person who passed by could not tell that he was startled about what had happened not a half a hour earlier.

"Find anything interesting?" Dean asked startling his younger brother.

"What?" Sam asked. "Uh...No You?"

"Nothing I wanna talk about or think about ever again." Dean responded. The older Winchester then did a double take before realizing Claire wasn't with Sam. "Where's Claire."

"About that-" Sam started. Sam had a worried look on his face.

"What happened?" Dean asked quickly. Sam was taken back but the worry Dean was displaying for the young woman before he composed himself.

"I don't know how to explain it. She was in a lot of pain, and then Cas showed up."

"Cas? Castiel?" Dean asked confused.

"She fine now. Sort of." Sam added.

"Sam what the hell happened?"

"I don't know, Dean. Cas said somethings I didn't understand and then she passed out. He said, 'It has begun' and then disappeared."

Dean made a move to walk out of the theater/dinning hall but Sam's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Dean we can't just leave in the middle of a case."

"We gotta figure out what in the hell is wrong with her!" Dean argued.

"And we will. Let's finish this up and then finding out what happened to Claire is our next priority." Sam explained trying to keep his brother from running out. Dean's gaze went from his brother to a couple of older gentlemen standing a ways away. The gentlemen Dean was very familiar with.

"Let's finish this as quickly as possible then," Dean commented before walking up to the two men. "The chief huh?"

* * *

My eyes snapped open at the sound of wings. I bolted up from my position on the bed and immediately regretted it as a searing pain racked my body. I stayed sitting up regardless of the pain as my eyes met the familiar piercing blues of the angel.

"You were lucky this time." his deep voice broke the silence.

"Excuse me?"

"Your soul is breaking. The faster the seals break the faster your soul breaks. You're tied to them. Lilith must be stopped."

I rolled my eyes at the angel as he disappeared in the flap of wings. I slowly moved off the bed and glanced around at the empty room. I put my head in my hands before I walked over to the bathroom. I turned on the facet and splashed some cold water on my face before I cringed at the pain in my abdomen.

I reached down and pulled the hem of my shirt up so my stomach was showing. Right above where the pain had radiated from where strange symbols carved into my skin. I sucked in a large breath of air as my fingers glided across the raised skin. I jerked my hand back as the symbols, cold to the touch, slowly disappeared. I shook my head before pushing my shirt back down, but not before I caught a glimpse of the old scar on my side.

"_Boo," I heard behind me as a hot pain spread through my side. I crumpled to the ground the gun landing a few feet away from me. I put my hand to my side and brought it back finding blood on my hand._

I shook my head before pulling my shirt down the rest of the way. I walked back into the room and suddenly stopped when I heard blasting music coming from above me. I groaned in frustration before moving towards the door. It wasn't hard to figure out where it was coming from.

I stalked up the stair to the next floor of the hotel. I finally came to the door that the music was blasting from. I banged my fist against the door.

"Hey! Will you turn that crap down! That's not even music just turn it down!" I yelled at the door. I banged my fist against the door harder before listening more closely. It sounded like choking but I couldn't be too sure because the music was so loud.

"Hey!" I yelled again before – against my better judgment – pushed the door open. I stood frozen in the doorway when I came upon the sight of Jeb Dexter hanging from the ceiling fan, a rope around his neck. "Oh no."

I turned around and raced out of the room dialing 911 while I did. I snapped the phone shut before the emergency line answered thinking about how that would look if I reported it. I quickly ran back to our room a floor down trying to figure out what to do. I glanced at the clock on my cellphone before darting back out into the hallway and towards our room. I retched the door open and went to go in slamming into a solid figure. A pair of arms reached out to stop me from falling as I looked up into to those gorgeous green eyes.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Dean asked a smirk on his face.

"Upstairs." I replied anxiously before pulling myself out of his grasp and pushed past both him and Sam.

"Not so fast! We gotta talk," Dean said stopping me again.

"Dean we can talk later but right now-"

"You're right. We're in the middle of a case so whatever you have to do it can wait."

"No it can't. It really can't."

"Why not?"

"Because Jeb Dexter is hanging from a rope on his ceiling fan!" I exclaimed hoping Dean would get the message.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, it's the perfect noose, almost like he hung himself," I replied looking at the eldest Winchester. "Where's Sam?"

"Following up on some leads. Where's he at?"

"Upstairs. I need to call 911 but if you wanna check out the body before they get here we better hurry."

Dean nodded as we both headed back up to Jeb's room. I opened the door and quickly walked in making sure there was no one there but the dead body. I felt wrong doing this while Dean stood outside being the watch.

"What am I looking for?" I hissed while looking over the magician's body.

"Anything!" Dean replied hurriedly. I rifled through his pockets before I glanced down noticing that his jacket was laying on the floor beneath him, meaning it must have fallen off when he was hanging. There was something white peeking out from one of the pockets. I quickly walked over there and pulled it out – there is my hand was another tarot card, more specifically the hanged man tarot card.

I stuffed the card into my pocket as I raced out of the room whispering 'Sorry' to the hanging body of Jeb Dexter. I reached the door and pulled it close behind me. I looked up at Dean whose eyes were glued to something down the hall.

"Follow my lead."

"Why-" I was cut off by Dean pushing me up against the wall, his lips on mine. I was a little taken back but the sudden kiss but I didn't complain. I wrapped my arms around his neck bringing him closer as his hands fell to my waist. I was so wrapped up in the feel of his lips on mine I almost missed the sound of someone tell us to leave.

"Excuse me you'll have to evacuate the floor," the police officer said as he walked towards us.

"Sorry, we'll go," I replied out of breath after pulling away from Dean. Dean's arm went around my shoulders as we walked back down the hallway and to the elevator. As soon as the elevator's doors closed I turned to Dean.

"What was that?" I asked.

"The cop was coming and we needed a discreet get away." Dean shrugged his shoulders. I nodded.

"I wasn't complaining," I said softly.

I glanced up at Dean who had a smirk on his face. I reached up and wrapped my arm around his neck bringing his face towards mine before gently placing my lips against his. The elevator dinged indicating there was gonna be another passenger. Dean pulled back but his gaze didn't leave mine, I distantly heard someone coughing and saying they'd take the next elevator. Dean's lips found mine again only this time with much more force.

Dean gently pushed me against the wall of the small elevator before he shifted his hands, one rested on the small of my back while the other moved inside my jacket. Then just like that Dean pulled away the tarot card resting in his hands. I shook my head as he smirked at me. He put the card back in his own pocket before his eyes met mine again.

Okay two can play that game. A sly grin crept onto my face as I leaned towards him my hands rested on his chest. My right arm wrapped around his neck as my left hung at my side. I brought him back down and just before my lips touched his the elevator doors dinged. I grinned and slowly reached into his jacket pulling the card out.

As soon as the elevator doors opened I turned away from the shocked Winchester and walked out of the elevator swinging my hips a little more than necessary. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Dean still staring. I slowly turned around and showed Dean the card. He jumped out of the elevator and went through his pockets before a smirk came across his face.

Dean shook his head before walking towards one of the many police officers that had swarmed the building from the time we had left Jeb's room. I pulled out my badge – the one Dean had made for me a few days ago – before making my way to another officer. From what I could gather a maid had found Jeb's body, I'm guessing shortly after I left the first time. They are calling it an apparent suicide.

Dean strode up to me just as Sam walked through the front door of the hotel. I grinned at Dean before turning my attention to the younger Winchester.

"Hey." Sam greeted.

"Claire found Jeb hanging from a ceiling fan," Dean told Sam quietly. "After Claire, a maid found him and called 911. Police think it was a suicide. I beg to differ. Pulled a little sleight of hand myself."

"I'm sorry, who pulled a sleight of hand?" I asked holding up the card for Sam to see.

"On Dexter's body?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," I answered as Sam took the card out of my hand.

"I'm thinking if the spell is a death transference then these cards work like black-magic targets."

"Any connection between the victims?" Sam asked.

"Jeb was a total douche bag to Jay yesterday."

"What about the first victim? Vance?" I asked looking at Dean who seemed to have all the answers.

"Asked around. Apparently Vance was heckling Jay at the bar the day he was killed."

Sam scoffed. "Okay, so Jay sneaks a card into Vance's pocket, does the Table of Death-"

"Then Vance gets 10 swords to the chest," I finished Sam's thought.

"Then Jay slips a noose and Jeb doesn't. Hell of a trick."

"It's time we had a chat with Jay." Dean said as we walked through the hotel lobby. "Any luck tailing him?"

"He slipped me," Sam shamefully admitted. A small grin reached my face hearing that a 60 year old man slipped 25 year old Sam.

"He's a 60-year-old." Dean stated the obvious.

"He's a magician," Sam retorted.

"Well let's go find him!" I interjected before any arguing could happen.

* * *

"I do not want to be a part of this!" I hissed as Sam and Dean turned the corner guns drawn.

"Then stay out a watch," Dean retorted.

"Fine!" I watched idly by as Dean kicked in Jay's door before him and Sam stormed into the hotel room, guns blazing. Sam closed the door behind him leaving me to lean against the wall outside the room. I looked up and down the hall a few times before slowly sliding down to the floor in a crouch. A few minutes later I quickly jumped up as the Winchesters exited the room in a hurry.

"What's going on?" I asked looking a the guys as they rushed down the stairs and into the lobby.

"No way he could outrun us," Sam said ignoring my question.

"Maybe he vanished. He really is good," Dean answered.

"Or he found a back door."

"Guys no one came out of that room, except for you." I replied causing both guys to stop. All three of us turned to look out the window just as a police car showed up lights flashing. A cop quickly jumped out of the car and raced into the building.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that's for you. You guys have fun," I said quickly before breaking away from the Winchesters. I walked over the vending machine making it look like I was getting something out of it just as Jay came barreling down the stairs pointing at the brothers.

"That's them!" Jay yelled to the cops. "Those are the two nutjobs that just broke into my room!"

The entire lobby froze as the cops pulled out their gun and trained them on the guys telling them to 'Freeze and put their hand where they could see them'.

My eyes met Dean's as the cops led them out and I knew that he wanted me to figure this out or find a way to get them out of jail. I sure as hell wasn't gonna go to the police station so I guess I had to figure this out on my own. I shook my head as the guys left causing my to glance over at where Jay was standing. His eyes met mine before he gave me a small smile and disappeared back up the stairs.

* * *

**Hey guys! I know this chapter isn't much but it is kinda important! Weird right? Anyways I would love some kind of feedback especially on how You think I'm doing so far! Thanks for reading!**


	17. Choices to Make

_**Chapter 17 – Choices to Make**_

I flashed my badge at the ticket master standing in front of the door before making my way into the theater where Jay was to perform the Table of Death once more. I leaned against the gold painted rail that separated the people standing in the back and the people sitting at tables near the front.

It was a spectacle for sure as the lights dimmed and I could see Jay laying on a table. Only I couldn't actually see him, just his shadow that was cast on the curtain from a stage light. Along the side of a stage there was a rope that was sparking which I'm guessing was Jay's time limit. I jumped as did half of the room when time was up and the rope snapped causing the the spikes to fall on Jay.

It room was silent and tense as the lights came back on. I was standing straight up now as I waited anxiously with the others in the room. There was a drum roll before the curtains were whipped back revealing Jay in pristine condition. I shook my head in wonder. The room burst into applause as Jay bowed.

"That's not possible." I whispered before a scream ripped through the theater. "Move!" I yelled pushing through the crowds. I quickly jumped onto the stage before making my way backstage as someone cried for 911.

I found the source of the screaming to see Jay standing over one of his friends. Charlie, I think was his name. Whoever he was – he was dead. He had 10 stab sounds to the abdomen without a single tear in his shirt – just like Vance. I knelt down and checked for a pulse only to find none. I shook my head before looking up a Jay who looked near tears.

He glanced at me before making a quick exit. I jumped up ordering someone to call 911 before following after Jay. I walked out the exit he took and found myself in an alley way, Jay was leaning against the wall a few feet away.

"Jay?" I asked softly.

"You're with those guys that broke into my room right?" he asked his voice little more than a soft whisper.

"Yeah. And before you go calling the cops just hear me out." I said putting my hands up in a mock surrender. "What they did was a bit rash, but they're not crazy. Trust me on that. They can help. Your friend just died in there, I'm not sure what more proof you need, but we need to stop this before more people die, Jay."

"Okay," Jay replied quietly. He then made a quick phone call to the police station before the two of us made our way to the hotel lobby in complete silence.

I leaned against one of the pillars in the empty lobby as Jay stood there and stared at the poster of Jeb Dexter that was still hanging in the poster box. I glanced outside just in time to see the Winchesters walking up the sidewalk before the turned into the lobby.

"Jay," Sam called out. "Thanks for dropping the charges."

"Yeah, you mind telling us why you did it?" Dean added as he glanced over at me. Jay glanced at me and I nodded in return.

"We have to talk," Jay said simply looking back at the Winchesters.

We followed Jay to the nearby bar where he grabbed a glass of whiskey before we got seated at a table near the back. Jay took a couple of sips of his drink while we waited patiently for him to start talking. Dean and Sam were on one side of the table while Jay and I were on the other.

"I was just a kid when we first met," Jay started. "All I knew was how to cheat at cards. Charlie got me out of more scrapes that I can count. Hell, I would have been dead at the age of 20 if it hadn't been for him. He was more than my friend. He was my brother."

"I'm sorry, Jay," Sam commented sympathetically.

"Look, I should have listened to you when you told me my show was killing people."

"Well, you weren't the one pulling the trigger." Dean replied trying to calm Jay's nerves a bit.

"Yeah, but someone did and I wanna find out who did this to Charlie," Jay replied angrily. "So I'll do whatever you guys say. Just tell me what to do."

"Jay, whoever is doing this – they like you," I said turning my body slightly so I was looking at Jay. "They're probably close to you. Someone you trust." Jay seemed confused at what I was trying to get at.

"Did Charlie and Vernon get along?" Sam asked. The confusion left Jay's face and was replaced one with pure disbelief.

"No. No, it's not Vernon."

"He's the only one who makes sense," Dean added gently.

"Charlie and Vernon were your family."

"And now Charlie's gone," Dean finished Sam's sentence.

"Yeah, but...They butted heads sometimes, but Vernon could never do something like this." Jay stated trying to defend his other friend.

"See, the thing about real magic," Dean spoke up looking at Jay solemnly. "it's a whole lot like crack. People do surprising things once they get a taste of it."

"You better be damn sure about this," Jay finally said. "Vernon's all I got left."

I nodded absently before speaking up. "Okay, here's what we have to do then. Jay you have to get Vernon out of his room so Sam and Dean can search it."

Jay nodded giving the guys Vernon's room number. I watched silently as Jay took another drink of the whiskey. I shook my head before following the guys to the entrance of the bar.

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna stick with Jay make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Go," I replied a small smile on my face. The smile dropped quickly when I turned back to Jay who was making his way to the pay phone. After a few moments Jay nodded to me before telling me we had to go to the theater.

"How did a nice girl like you get involved in this nonsense?" Jay asked as we walked into the theater.

"Magic killed my best friend." I replied vaguely. All in all that wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth either. Jeremy was my best friend and a sort of magic did kill him, specifically a demon.

Jay walked on stage first before coming to a complete stop in front of the Table of Death. I watched curiously before walking onto the stage myself. I walked over to the side and hid just out of view so Jay could talk to Vernon one on one before I came out.

"I just talked to the head of the convention," Vernon's voice sounded through the theater as he climbed the steps to the stage. "The headliner gig is yours!"

I stayed silently as I watched Jay turn away from the Table of Death and towards his friend. "What? You don't want it?" Vernon asked when he got no reply.

"A day ago if you told me I'd be standing on this stage..." Jay trailed off as he sorted through memories. "No, I can't do it Vernon."

"What are you talking about?" Vernon asked. I slowly pulled out my gun and clicked the safety off.

"Charlie's gone."

"Charlie would have wanted you to go on. This is your shot! It's our shot."

"Really?" Jay asked looking at his friend. "This is what Charlie would have wanted? Charlie's dead."

"Hey, he was my friend too ya know," Vernon replied after hearing the tone in Jay's voice.

"A hell of a way to treat a friend."

"Again, what are you talking about?" Vernon asked confused. I took this as my cue as I stepped out my gun raised and trained at Vernon. I slowly moved forward catching Vernon's attention. "Whoa! What's going on, Jay?" Vernon put his hands up in surrender.

"You killed him, didn't you? And for what?" Jay asked to the frightened Vernon. Vernon was glancing between me and Jay nervously as he continued to hold his hands up. "So that I-? So that we could be back on top?"

"That's insane!" Vernon replied coolly. "You're scaring me."

"First it was Vance. Then it was Jeb Dexter. Even if you thought you were doing it for me – how in God's name could you kill Charlie?"

"Oh, you are crazy," Vernon replied before glancing over at me once more.

"You used me. And you used my act to do this to him. If you think-" Jay was cut off.

"I wouldn't be so hard on him, Jay." Another voice sounded from behind us. "He didn't do it."

I whipped around quickly my gun trained on the new body in the theater. He was a younger man in his – I'm guessing – late 20's with brown hair, medium height. The peculiar thing was the scar above his right eye that seemed vaguely familiar. Where had I seen that scar before? Then it clicked. Charlie had the same scar above the same eye.

"Sweet Mary and Joseph," Vernon swore.

"Charlie?" Jay asked confirming my suspicion.

"It's really me Jay." Charlie answered. He then glanced in my direction. "You can put that away princess." I didn't say anything but kept it trained on 'Charlie'.

"How the hell-?" Vernon asked.

"God, you forget what it feels like to be young!" Charlie shouted as he walked around the Table of Death. "It's amazing."

"How old are you?" I asked curiously.

"It depends on what you mean by old. Right now, technically, about 28. But I've been around a lot longer than that."

"How long?" Jay asked.

"Long enough to have shilled for Barnum. And he gave me something." Charlie answered. That wasn't possible. He would have to be over 100 years old.

"What's that?"

"The grimoire." Oh yeah. Witches. Dean's just gonna love this. "A book of real magic. At first I thought it was a scam but I tried one of the spells and it worked. In fact all of them worked. So when I got to the end and there was one for immortality..."

"My God. Charlie." Vernon replied stepping up to where I was.

"And my show, the things I can do-"

"Different spell. But it gives you a little taste of what's possible." Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of tarot cards. Vernon stepped forward to touch one. "I wouldn't touch those, Vernon. They're still radioactive."

"Okay, enough!" I stepped into the conversation. "You've lived for over a hundred years so I think it's time to call it quits. Killing innocent people for your stupid little tricks," I hissed.

"You're really getting on my nerves." Charlie stated before snapping his fingers.

Before I could comprehend what was happening the gun was ripped from my hands. A rope had appeared out of thin air – literally – and had wrapped itself around my ankles, hoisting my up off the ground so my legs were above me and I was hanging upside down. I was dangling like a fish on a hook before a large clear box appeared full of water appeared below me as I pair of handcuffs appeared tightly around my wrists. I struggled seeing the large container of water and I had a pretty good idea of what it was for.

"Houdini's famous Upside Down! Chances of survival?" Charlie asked Jay and Vernon.

"You killed Vance and Jeb Dexter?" Jay asked glancing nervously at me and I knew he was trying to buy time.

"What you think this is a parlor game?" Charlie asked. "You were being humiliated by those punks. A washed up old man who couldn't defend himself."

"You used me to do these terrible things."

"I used them to give you a gift." Charlie answered quickly. "And you wanted it Jay. I saw it in your eyes. No, I never wanted this."

"You were ready to kill yourself. I saved your life. I was there for you, like I've always been. Like I'll always be. Come with me both of you. You think the first time was good? Second time's even better. All of the no how's none of the aches and pains." Charlie replied. I struggled against my bonds hoping there was some way I could at least slip the cuffs.

"No. I won't do this. I won't." Jay said finally.

"I've never mad this offer before. Then again, I've never had friends like the two of you before."

I was silently praying at this point for Sam and Dean to come bursting into the theater guns blazing because this was not turning out too well for me.

"And who else has to die for us to do this?" Jay asked rhetorically. "What's the price tag on immortality? This isn't right, Charlie, what you're doing. You know that. Somewhere you know that."

"I know I don't wanna come back alone...to start all over alone," Charlie replied.

"Jay, we can be young again." Vernon whispered whimsically.

"The three of us, together, vital and alive. Forever."

"Not so fast!" Dean's voice rang out.

I sighed in relief but it was too soon. I heard the snap of Charlie's fingers before I felt the cold water connect with my skin. I was initially shocked at the sudden drop but I tried to stay as calm as possible while beating on the glass. Being upside down that is a lot harder than it sounds. It took me a moment but I finally got right side up and went to the top of the tank. That didn't do anything because there was a top to the tank, which was conveniently padlocked and there was no room for an air pocket at the top. I looked out towards Sam and Dean who were trying to get to me but a noose dropped down and wrapped around Dean's neck. I struggled more as I banged against the glass, but to no avail.

I was starting to panic and my first mistake was breathing in water. I watched helplessly as Dean dangled trying to breathe while Sam shot at Charlie on for it to do nothing. The next thing I know Sam was strapped to the Table of Death. My vision started getting blurry when I noticed Charlie dropped to his knees. I tried so hard to keep the water out of my nose and mouth but it just kept pouring in.

Suddenly the glass on the box gave way allowing both me and the water to fall out of the box. I hit the stage floor with a loud thump and the water rushed past me. I coughed and sputtered out as much water as I could while greedily sucking in as much air as I could. I stayed on my side and continued coughing when I felt someone kneel next to me.

"Claire! Claire, you okay?" Sam's worried voice rang loud and clear.

"Yeah," I replied my vision still a little hazy as I continued to cough.

Sam helped me up as I caught a brief glimpse of the officially dead body of Charlie.

* * *

I sat calmly on the bed and sifted through my duffel hoping to find some clean clothes. As soon as I found some I stood up slowly and made my way to the bathroom for a shower. Only I didn't make it to the bathroom. A horrendous pain ripped through my abdomen almost like I was being stabbed. The searing pain caused me to drop to my knees yelping in pain.

"What's happening to me?" I grunted when I heard the flapping of wings.

"You're dying." His gravely voice replied bluntly.

"Why," I groaned trying not to let the tears fall down my face as the pain intensified.

"The grace and your human soul cannot exist in one body. They will tear at each other until there is nothing left."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Choose," Cas said simply as he stepped towards me pressing his forefinger and middle finger to my forehead. Just like that the pain was gone and I was left lying there on the ground alone once again in the motel room.

"What the HELL does that mean!" I yelled at the ceiling.

* * *

I stared silently out of the backseat window as we drove down the dark desolate road. I could feel Dean's eyes on me every now and again because he had been constantly checking the review mirror. The ride had been pretty quiet since we left Magic Town, USA. After my run in with Castiel I hadn't really had much of a coherent thought.

My mind was all over the place. I mean who wouldn't freak out when you've been told you're dying. The constant throbbing pain was there and it wasn't gonna go away. How could I have survived all this just to die because my soul and grace weren't compatible? I was completely torn on whether or not to inform the guys or keep it to myself until I figured out what I was gonna do.

I thought about Alex and her half of the grace. If I could just find it and join the halves together maybe that would solve the problem. What did Cas mean by I had to choose? Choose what? God damn angels are so cryptic by the time I figure it out I'm probably gonna be dead anyways.

"You okay back there?" Dean's voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

"What?"

"You okay? You seem a little out of it," Dean commented glancing in the mirror. Sam had turned around in his seat to face me.

"I'm fine," I replied lamely before turning back to look out the window. "On second thought, Dean could you run me by Bobby's? I have some things I gotta do."

"Sure. We could use a pit stop-"

"Just me. You guys need to be out there saving lives and all that jazz. I need a break from all of this...Just for a little while."

Sam's gaze changed from worry to suspicion as soon as I said I needed a break. I knew he could see right through me but it wasn't Sam's style to butt in – not lately anyways. My gaze remained fixed on the darkness as the Impala's engine roared signaling that Dean had sped up.

* * *

It didn't take long to get to Bobby's before the Winchesters – with much protest – dropped me off and then left for another case. I gazed up at the Singer house before making my way to the front door and knocked. I got the exact greeting I was expecting too.

"What do you want?" he asked as soon as he opened the door.

"Look Bobby I know we had some disagreements in the past but-" I stopped seeing the skeptical look on his face. I sighed and shook my head.

"Come on," Bobby finally said before he opened the door further and walked back into the house. "Now what's the big problem?"

"I'm dying." I answered bluntly as I set my stuff down by the stairs.

"That it?" Bobby asked as he walked back into the kitchen.

"It's pretty painful, if that helps." I followed him into the kitchen and noticed he was having like a cooking marathon going on. "Is this a bad time?"

"No-" He was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing...well one of the phones. He had several hanging on the wall, each with a different label. CIA, Homeland Security, FBI, and a few others. The one labeled FBI was ringing. Bobby picked it up and dealt with the person before hanging up.

"Now what makes you think you're dying?"

"Other than the fact that my soul and half of the grace I do have are fighting it out inside my body? Cas told me."

Bobby scoffed, "That's reliable."

"He hasn't done anything that would cause me not to trust him."

"Other than the fact that he's an angel," Bobby replied giving me the 'you-are-out-of-your-mind' look.

"I get these-" I cut myself off when the searing pain ripped through my body once more. I put my hand on the kitchen table to steady me while the pain coursed through my body. By the time it stopped I was breathing hard and Bobby was standing right next to me a worried look on his face. I tried to stand but I collapsed under my own weight. Luckily Bobby caught me before I hit the ground and sat me down on the nearby kitchen table chair.

"What in the hell was that?" Bobby asked taking a seat next to me.

"That's what I was trying to tell you about," I cringed as the after-effects of the sudden pain kicked in.

"You're telling me, that the grace and your soul are fighting _inside _your body."

"And its killing me, don't forget that part." I muttered.

"How the hell did that happen?" Bobby asked leaning back in his chair.

"I don't know. Cas didn't exactly go into details about it. He just said I had to choose." I rolled my eyes as I held onto my sore abdomen.

"Choose what?"

"That's the million dollar question."

* * *

**Hey everyone! Special thanks to kishe for the review! And thanks to everyone who spends a little time reading this every time i post! Anyways, I hope this chapter was a good one and I hope to hear your views on it! **


	18. Full of Bad Decisions

_**Chapter 18 – Full of Bad Decisions**_

I smacked my head against the table before repeating the action a few more times. I have been at Bobby's for weeks and still no closer to figuring out what Castiel meant. We had been through mounds of angel lore yet there was nothing on the grace specifically. The attacks were getting more frequent and I could feel myself slowing down tremendously.

On countless occasions I would lose all energy and just pass out. Bobby thought we should tell Sam and Dean but I told him if he did that I would personally kill him. I knew keeping it from them was a bad idea but the whole angel thing is a sore subject. I mean when Dean found out I was a half-angel he freaked out, and I really do not need them to be worrying about me when there are seals out there that need protecting from Lilith.

"Do you want brain damage?" Bobby asked as he walked into the library.

"I'm already dying...I seriously doubt brain damage would do anything."

Bobby shook his head, rolling his eyes. "I've got nothing."

"This is useless..." I moaned laying my head on the table. "I'm dying and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"Knock it off," Bobby replied smacking me on the back of the head. "We-"

Bobby was cut off by the sound of the house phone ringing. More specifically the FBI phone was ringing. I shook my head before standing up and walking over to the front door and walking out to the salvage yard. I walked over to the spot where I had tried destroying every car I could when Dean had died.

I glanced around the yard and noticed there were a few new editions but other than that nothing had changed. I looked up to the sky and squinted my eyes to protect them from the glare of the sky.

"Okay you selfish son of a bitch," I hissed. "I need help and you wont even tell me what I have to do."

"There is nothing I can do," Cas' voice said from behind me. I spun around quickly and came face to face with the angel. His blue eyes still as piercing as ever. "You are weak."

"No really? What gave it away," I hissed sarcastically walking towards the angel. "I need help. I am dying and you damn angels sit back and do nothing! I thought you were supposed to be merciful!"

"We are warriors-"

"Of God. Yeah tell me something I don't know." I replied turning away from him and letting out a sigh. I could feel it coming on again: the pain. It rushed through my body once more causing me to drop to the ground on one knee. It was silently except for my hard breathing, I couldn't tell if Cas was still behind me or if he had left.

"I can put up a wall." He finally spoke up. "It's only temporary but it will keep the grace and your soul separated."

"Then do it," I groaned still on my knee.

"It will be painful," Cas replied coming to stand in front of me. I slowly nodded as he gently laid me back so I was laying with my back flat against the dirt. "Take off your belt."

I gave him an incredulous look before slowly taking off my belt. I rolled my eyes when he told me to fold it and then stick it in my mouth and bite down on it. I did as I was told when I noticed he was rolling up his sleeve on his right arm. My eyes widened in confusion as he lowered his hand towards my abdomen. I yelled in agony as his hand literally went through my skin and into my body. I bit down harder on the belt as the pain wracked through my body. I could feel him separating the soul and the grace before pulling his hand out of my body.

I tried to keep my eyes open but the pain was too much and I succumbed to the darkness that had crept up on me.

* * *

My eyes snapped open when I felt someone nudge my foot. I was up and alert, ready to fight not remembering where I was at. I blinked a few times when I focused on the slightly startled form of Bobby Singer.

"Jesus Christ, what in the hell are you doing?" Bobby asked.

I glanced around and noticed I was still sitting on the ground in the salvage yard. My belt was laying next to me on the ground. My hand immediately went to my stomach before glancing up at Bobby.

"I don't know," I replied standing up and putting my hand to my head as a headache erupted.

Bobby gave me a suspicious look. "We've got a job to do."

"Really?" I asked as I walked along Bobby. I think he was just as surprised as I was when I was able to keep up.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "I feel great."

"Sam called. They're dealing with a siren. We gotta figure out how to kill it."

"This is how you spend your time?" I asked as we entered the library once again.

"Don't exactly have much of a choice, do I?"

I put my hands up in surrender before walking to the bookcase to look for anything having to do with sirens. Of all the things the guys had to go and get themselves mixed up with sirens. Bobby explained that they had found a case where the siren was posing as a stripper. The siren had convinced three men to kill their wives to be with her.

I looked through several books before I was drawn away from it by the sound of Bobby reading a poem.

"Since when do you speak Greek?" I asked. He gave me one of those looks before reading from the book.

"It says to kill a siren you need 'A bronze dagger covered in the blood of a sailor under the spell of the song'."

"Well the last part is weird. The song of the siren is just a metaphor for the way they lure them in," I commented as I replayed the poem in my head. "So if it has to dipped in blood of the person under the spell I'm guessing there's something in the blood she uses to control them."

Bobby nodded. "Too vague. Thousands of years of the telephone game, so it's a long shot."

"I'll call Sam." I replied and I pulled out my cell phone. It rang for a moment before Sam's voice came through.

"_Hey Claire._"

"Hey Sam. I'm on speaker phone." I answered ignoring the fact that Sam seemed a little annoyed that I had called.

"Sam." Bobby spoke up.

"_Hey Bobby._" Sam replied his demeanor changing quickly. I rolled my eyes.

"Did you find her yet?"

"_Uh, no. And it doesn't seem like she's slowing down either. What about you? Got anything?_"

"Uh some lore from a dusty Greek poem. Shockingly it's vague."

"_Oh hold on a sec, I'm gonna put you on speaker._"

"It says you need 'a bronze dagger covered in the blood of a sailor under the spell of the song."

"_What the hell does that mean?_" Dean voice rang out of the speaker.

"You got me." Bobby replied. "We're dealing with 3000 years of the telephone game here."

"_Best guess?_" Sam asked.

"Well," I started, "The spell has nothing to do with the song. The song is just the metaphor for the lure. The actual spell...my guess would be some kind of toxin or venom. Something that can get into the blood."

"_That makes them go all _Manchurian Candidate_. Uh, what do you think? She infects them during sex?_"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"_Supernatural STD._" Dean's voice rang out. I looked at Bobby and rolled my eyes.

"Well, however it happens," Bobby spoke up, "once it's done the siren's gotta watch her back. She gets a dose of her own medicine."

"_It kills her._" Sam finished.

"Like a snake getting iced by its own venom."

"_So we gotta juice one of the O.J.'s in jail,_" Dean concluded.

"No. That won't work. The venom or whatever would already be out of their system," I replied. "We've got no clue where you're gonna get the blood you need."

"_I think I might have an idea._" Sam answered.

"Be careful." Bobby replied. "These things are tricky bitches. They'll wrap you up in knots before you know what hit you."

"_Okay,_" Sam replied before hanging up. I scoffed and looked at Bobby.

"No thank you?" I asked him.

"Welcome to my life," Bobby replied before standing up. "You hungry?"

"Sure." I looked at the pages in the book that held the poem. "Do you think they can do it?"

"What do you think?"

"They are way in over their heads," I commented before walking to the kitchen.

"So what happen earlier?" Bobby asked as he dawned a cooking apron the said 'Kiss the Cook'. He turned on the stove top and set a pan on there. I watched curiously wondering what he was gonna make and if it was actually gonna be any good.

"What?"

"Outside. I found you out cold."

"It doesn't matter. Whatever happened helped and I'm not gonna sweat it."

"What so now you're not dying?" Bobby asked pointing a spatula at me.

"I have no clue what I am, Bobby. Maybe I'm dying, maybe I'm not. Which ever it is, I have not had any type of pain rack my body for a few hours now so I'd say, what's done is done."

"What did you do?" Bobby asked.

"What makes you think I did anything? Why won't you believe me?"

"When it comes to you and the boys? You really have to ask?" Bobby stopped when the sound of the FBI phone rang. I rolled my eyes as Bobby answered the phone.

"D.C. Bureau." Bobby was quiet for a moment. "That would be me. What can I do for you?" Once again it was quiet and all that could be heard was the sizzling of the frying pan. "You questioning my authority? You could have fooled me. Last time I checked, son, D.C. has jurisdiction. Or am I wrong? Well, good. Well, the next time you wanna waste my time with stupid questions, don't."

Bobby hung up before turning to look at me. "Those idgits."

"What FBI agent calls about jurisdiction, if they know Sam and Dean are 'from' Washington D.C.?" I asked.

"The kind that ain't real." Bobby answered.

"We just got off the phone with them, what? Not 20 minutes ago?"

"Let's go." Bobby pulled off the apron and shut off the stove top.

"But the food-"

"Those damn idiots will get themselves killed if we don't get there."

* * *

"Dean's car is here." I told Bobby as we pulled into the parking lot.

"Let's go do damage control," Bobby retorted as we got out of the car. "You have the dagger?"

"Pure bronze," I said tossing him the knife. "Hopefully, this Nick Monroe hasn't done anything yet."

Bobby grunted in response before the two of us hurried into the motel and up a couple flights of stairs. The hallway split, so I went one way and Bobby went the other way. As I neared the guy's hallways I heard grunting and a loud banging like a door coming of the hinges. I quickened just in time to see Dean about bring the fire ax down on his brother.

"DEAN!" I yelled allowing my voice to echo down the hallway. Dean stopped and looked at me for a second. A look of recognition crossed his face as he moved to lower the ax.

"Do it now, Dean," another man spoke causing my attention to go to that guy. I'm guessing he was the siren and one ugly-ass stripper that's for sure. Dean continued the motion to bring the ax down but Bobby's hand snapped out and grabbed the ax before he stuck the dagger into Dean's shoulder covering the tip in blood.

The siren saw what was going on and decided to make a break for it. I stood in the middle of the hallway ready to hold the guy off so Bobby could get him with the dagger. When the siren saw me standing in the middle of the hallway he stopped dead in his tracks before falling sluggishly to the little alcove that held the vending machines.

Bobby had thrown the knife and it had hit its target, right in the back. The siren stared at me before turning to its ugly reflection in the vending machine. The siren slowly fell to the ground. I glanced up at Bobby who was slowly walking towards me and the siren. Dean was sitting against the wall cradling his shoulder while Sam found his way to a sitting position on the wrecked door.

I knelt down and pulled the dagger out of the siren's back before checking for a pulse. I looked up at Bobby and shook my head before watching as Bobby turned back to check on the guys.

"Grab your stuff and lets go." Bobby directed at the guys. "Now!" He hissed when he noticed neither Winchester had moved. Just like that both guys jumped up and grabbed their stuff before the four of us headed out to the cars.

A little while later we found ourselves near the bridge. Bobby had grabbed a couple of sodas for everyone and handed each of us one.

"Soda?" Dean asked confused.

"You boys are driving, ain't you?" Bobby asked rhetorically.

"That's what we have Claire for," Dean joked.

"Dude, the last time I came within touching distance of the driver's side door you about had a heart attack," I retorted causing Sam to snicker. Dean scoffed before taking a drink of his soda.

"Thanks Bobby," Sam broke the awkward silence. "You know, you-" I cleared my throat catching everyone's attention. "And Claire," Sam fixed. "If you two hadn't shown up when you did."

"Done the same for me, more than once." Bobby replied. I nodded in agreement. "Of course you could have picked up the phone. It only took one phone call to figure out that Agent Nick Monroe wasn't real. Claire didn't even have to hear him to figure out he wasn't real."

Dean took another drink of his soda accepting the fact that both he and Sam had screwed up big time. I felt kind of bad for the guys because whatever had gone on, must have affected them pretty badly. The siren got to both of them and I could only imagine what the two said to each other while under the siren's influence.

"You boys gonna be okay?" Bobby asked catching onto the tension between the brothers. Both quickly agreed to being fine. Bobby nodded before turning to his car and opening the trunk. I set down my soda just in time to catch the duffel Bobby had tossed to me. "See you."

He shut the trunk before walking to the driver's door but stopped and turned back to look at us.

"You know, sirens are nasty things. That it got to you, that's no reason to feel bad." He finished climbing into his car before taking off. I stood there staring at the guys and holding onto my duffel.

"What have you done for the last month," Dean spoke up his gaze focused on me.

"Curing cancer," I replied sarcastically before walking to the back passenger's door of the impala.

"What were you really doing?"

"Catching up on some old angel lore. Nothing too exciting." It fell silent. "Bobby's right. Whatever happened between you two – it wasn't you, it was the siren. You can't let it tear you apart."

I pulled out a set of headphones and an old Ipod before climbing into the Impala to give the guys a moment. I could tell by their stance and the look on their face that no matter what happened there was still gonna be tension.

* * *

I leaned against the Impala while it filled with gas. Dean and Sam were inside getting some stuff leaving me in charge of the fuel, surprisingly. I pulled out my phone as the sound of "Hot 'n Cold" by Katy Perry sounded from my pocket.

"Hey Bobby," I answered after checking the caller ID.

"How are they doing?"

I scoffed before checking to make sure they were still in the gas station. "Arguing. Well not really arguing but they haven't exactly been getting along. They must have said some pretty harsh things to each other during the siren thing because Dean won't let it go. Not only that, but Sam still won't acknowledge my presence."

"Just keep an eye on them. The last thing we need is them getting themselves killed because they can't work together. And whatever the hell is going on between you and that idgit, you better settle it before it gets any worse."

"Easier said than done. Talk to you later," I replied before hanging up noticing that Dean was walking towards me.

"Who you gonna talk to later?" Dean asked coming up and stopping right next to me.

"Bobby," I replied casually.

"You know the last time you made mysterious phone calls you ended up getting stabbed in the back – literally." Dean added the last part after a short pause.

"I seriously doubt Bobby is gonna stab me in the back, Dean. So let it go."

"Okay..." Dean sighed putting his hands up in defeat.

"So you'll let me fill your car with gas but you won't let me drive it?" I asked as I pulled the gas nozzle out of the car. I set it back on the hook before turning and facing Dean, my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, pretty much," Dean commented a smirk on his face before getting into the impala.

"Jerk," I muttered before climbing into the backseat.

* * *

I leaned back in the chair as Sam talked to Bobby. I glanced over at Dean who was messing with the diner's jukebox, trying to find what he thinks is a good song. Thankfully the guys were walking and having civil conversation, but things were still tense between them.

"Okay, Bobby. Thanks." Sam hung up the phone before typing furiously at his computer looking for something. My eye brows raised in question before I switched sides and sat next to Sam. He was scrolling through a virtual newspaper before he stopped at one particular story.

"What's up?" Dean asked as he walked back to our table.

"Bobby found something in Wyoming."

"A job?"

"Maybe. Small town, no one's died in the past week and a half."

"That so unusual?" Dean asked.

"It is when you get shot in the heart and then walk away from it," I replied my eyes scanning over the story on Sam's laptop. Dean's face contorted into one of confusion at my statement. "It's how they're not dying." I clarified.

"One guy with terminal cancer strolls right out of hospice. Another guy gets capped by a mugger and walks away without a scratch." Sam added.

"Capped in the ass?" Dean asked.

"Police say Mr. Jenkins was shot in the heart at point-blank range by a 9 millimeter," I recited from the article.

"And he's not a donut?" Dean asked sarcastically as he stuffed some more of his burger into his mouth.

"Locals are saying it's a miracle." Sam added.

"Okay," Dean dismissed it right there.

"Its gotta be something nasty right?" Sam asked Dean who was still chowing down on his food. "I mean, people making deals or something?"

"You think?" I asked trying to think of anymore possible solutions.

"What else would it be?"

"I don't know." I shrugged before leaning back in the chair.

"All right, get that to go." Sam said suddenly closing his laptop and nodding towards Dean's food. Sam put the laptop into his bag before standing up slinging it onto his shoulder. I stood up silently but both Sam and I stopped our movements when we noticed Dean hadn't moved.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Sure you want me with you?" He retorted. I rolled my eyes knowing exactly where this was going.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Ah, I don't know, I don't wanna be holding you back or nothing," Dean deadpanned before taking another bite of his stupid sandwich.

"Dude, I've told you a hundred times, that was the siren talking, not me. Can we get past this?"

"Yeah, we're past it," Dean replied throwing down his sandwich.

Sam shook his head before walking out of the diner. I followed his slumped form as he went before turning back and glaring at Dean. He had just risen and thrown money on the table before his eyes met my furious glare.

"What?"

"Really, Dean? Things aren't bad enough already, you can't even forgive your brother for something he said under the influence?"

"It's something he's been wanting to say for a while, the siren just gave him a little push," Dean retorted.

"You are unbelievable." I muttered before stalking away from him and towards the door Sam had just left through.

The car ride was silent. I watched both Winchesters as each tried to talk to the other but ended up opening their mouths just to close them again not a single word being said. I contemplated calling Bobby numerous times on the way but figured it wouldn't have done much good anyways.

I got stuck on research duty as the Winchesters went to visit the gunshot victim. The one who miraculously survived a bullet to the heart. I sat on the motel room bed and scrolled through some online news articles on the town. The room was really hot for some reason and every time I went to check the thermostat – it stated the room temperature was 65 degrees.

I sat back on the bed after discarding my jacket and throwing my hair into a bun. I found a recent article on the death of a local boy – he died of asphyxiation during an asthma attack. A searing pain ripped through my abdomen suddenly causing me to double over. I hit the bed in anger as the pain continued. A cold breeze blew through the room suddenly and the pain just stopped.

My head snapped up towards the door when it opened to reveal Dean. He wasn't looking up so I had time to compose myself before his eyes fell on my figure. He stopped and took in the scene before walking towards me a curious look on his face.

"You okay?" He asked before shedding his coat and throwing it onto the chair next to mine.

"I don't feel so good," I replied hoping that would suffice. I got up and rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door. I caught the worry and surprise on his face as I went but I didn't let it stop me. I turned to the mirror and noticed my cheeks were flushed and I was sweating.

I lifted up my shirt and saw the symbols carved into my skin. I pressed my fingers to them and they were once again ice cold before they disappeared. I shook my head before turning on the faucet and splashing some cold water on my face.

After I was satisfied I walked out of the bathroom, still patting my face dry with a towel. I threw the towel down before glancing up at Dean who was staring at me with intense curiosity. There was a little bit of suspicion on his face as well – scratch that there was a lot of suspicion on his face mixed with the other emotions.

"What's going on with you?" he asked. I opened my mouth to answer but Sam walked into the room. I immediately shut my mouth and adverted my eyes before going to sit on the bed.

"Hey," Sam said as he entered the room glancing at me before focusing on Dean.

"Anything?" Dean asked bringing his attention to the computer screen. While I was cooling down I guess he had taken over the computer and what I was doing.

"That cancer survivor? He was clinically dead. His wife pulled the plug and now he's taking her out for their 20th anniversary."

"Any sign of a deal?" Dean asked.

"No. How about you? Find anyone dying around here?" Sam asked glancing at the computer.

"Not since Cole Griffith," I spoke up taking credit for my research. "He died 10 days ago...As far as I could tell he was the last person to die."

Sam nodded before turning and directing the next question at Dean. "So, what are you thinking?" I scoffed – this was getting old.

Dean glanced at me before answering, "Maybe it is what people say it is."

"Miracles? Dean, our experience, when do miracles happen?" Sam asked as Dean got up out of the chair causing Sam to fill the vacant spot. I shook my head.

"Is that a little hard for you to digest, Sam?" I snapped before I stood up and grabbed my jacket before whipping it onto my shoulders. I looked between the brothers, between Dean's gaping stare and Sam's angry glare. "Of course it is."

I snapped open the doors before throwing my own glare at the younger Winchester. I walked out and slammed the door behind me before angrily making my way down the hall. I made it to the end of the hall before I kicked the nearest wall in anger.

Why couldn't he just forgive me? Maybe because you blamed him for the deaths of basically everyone he cares about. I scoffed before my feet hit the pavement of the sidewalk. I kept walking till the sun had gone down and the roads had pretty much cleared. I stopped dead in my tracks when I felt his presence behind me.

"Now what would a pitiful thing like you be doing out here all by yourself?" It was a different voice but I still knew it was him.

"What do you want Alastair?" I snapped before turning around to face the demon. "I'm not in the mood."

"Where are the Winchesters?" I growled before I threw my hand up ready to throw him around a bit but he just stood there. A cruel grin crossed his face as I fell to my knees in pain. I gripped my stomach, where those symbols were. "My, my. Having a little bit of trouble are we?"

"Oh shut the hell up." I snapped.

"Looking for this?" Alastair asked. I gazed up at him and noticed he was holding a vile in his hand, similar to the one Uriel had kept Anna's grace in. Inside the small vile was a light blue light – the grace. Of course because there was only half in there it didn't glow as bright as Anna's did.

"Tell me where the Winchesters are." I shook my head. "Tell me where they are or I'll make sure you never see this half of your grace again."

When I didn't respond, Alastair started to mumble something in Latin and the most excruciating pain ripped through my body. I noticed the grace in the vile started shaking almost like it was in pain. I let out a sharp yelp and hoped that someone would hear me, but to no avail.

"STOP!" I yelled causing Alastair to stop the incantation. Just like that the pain was gone leaving me on the ground moaning. I reached numbly into my pocket and pulled out my phone, still breathing hard, I dialed Dean's number.

"Claire? Where in the hell are you?"

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Why are you out of breath?"

"I went jogging to get some of my anger out. Where are you guys I'll meet up with you."

"The cemetery. We're by Cole's grave hoping to get some answers."

"Okay. I'll be there soon." My voice broke before hanging up and turning to Alastair. "The cemetery. Give me my grace, Alastair."

"Not this time, princess." He grinned before disappearing. I let out an angry yell before smacking my fist against the ground. I heard the cracking of my knuckle and immediately regretted hitting the ground.

"That was not a wise decision." The voice of an angel said from behind me. I mean literally the voice of an angel – Cas to be exact.

"I'm full of bad decisions. Try me." I slowly stood up cradling my hand to my chest. Cas glanced at my hand before his eyes met mine. "I'm not cut out for this."

Cas didn't say anything as he walked forward before stopping right in front of me. I tilted my head up and gazed at him, wondering why he was so close. I went to take a step back but he stopped me when he gently grabbed my hand. He held my hand in his for a moment before a warmth spread through my hand and arm.

He held onto my hand for a moment longer just staring at it. A flurry of emotions crossed his face before he let go of my hand. The most prominent emotion on his face was confusion and he kept his eyes glued to my hand. I flexed it a few times and mumbled a thanks before it dropped to my side.

"Cas?" I asked lightly trying to gain his attention back.

"Stay away from Alastair," his deep voice rumbled before he disappeared.

"Thanks again," I whispered softly to the wind. I shook my head before I moved out of the alley way and back towards the motel room. It took me a little while, but when I finally reached the room I was confused as to what was going on.

Laying on each bed was one of the boys and they were both unconscious. Pamela, of all people, was sitting between the beds on a kitchen chair just staring at the wall in front of her.

"What in the hell is going on?" I asked looking at Pam.

"Claire? Where have you been?"

"I was—I was out." I replied breathlessly. "Why are they-"

"They are astral projecting. The reapers in the town have disappeared."

"Makes sense. This Dean's idea?" I asked. Pam's chuckle was my answer. Only Dean would come up with this. "So are they..."

"Not completely. Just soul-less."

I scoffed. "How fitting." I mumbled before walking over to the bed Dean was sitting on and sat down. I gently pressed a kiss to his forehead before I crossed my legs and sat Indian-style, gently resting his head on my lap.

"How are you and Chachi?" Pam asked her blinding gaze set on me and Dean.

"Chachi?" I snorted. "I don't know. I love him."

Pamela smiled. You know the kind where it was like she knew something I didn't. I glanced down at the unconscious man before a small smile graced my face.

"Are you sure?"

"I do. I love him. But I can't help but think that's wrong. The apocalypse is coming and I have a feeling no matter what we do, Lilith is gonna break all 66 seals. When she does, it's gonna be bloody. I just have this aching feeling in my gut that I'm not gonna be here too much longer."

"You and me both," Pam stated before standing up and feeling her way towards me. Once she reached me she felt her way up my arm until both her hands were on my face. "Make sure he knows how you feel before anything happens."

I nodded my head before she let go. Pam felt her way back to her chair before she plopped down and went back to staring at the wall. I shifted a bit before getting comfortable against the headboard and adjusting Dean's head on my lap. The room was silent for most of the day. There were a few conversations here and there but nothing that really kept going. Night was once again upon us before Pam spoke up again.

"What's going on between you and grumpy?"

"We got in this huge fight and now he won't even acknowledge me. I destroyed the friendship we had in a matter of seconds."

"What did you say?" I let out a sigh at her question.

"That he was the reason everyone around him was dying." I shook my head as I took in the shocked look on the woman's face. "I told him his mother's, father's and brother's death was all his fault. I don't know why I said it. It was like someone was controlling the words that came out of my mouth and it wasn't me."

An awkward silence followed the confession. I stood up and put Dean's head gently back on the bed before looking at Pam.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat. You want something?" Pam shook her head no. I sighed before leaning down to Dean's ear and whispered, "I love you."

That secretive smile crossed Pam's face again as I moved over to Sam and whispered, "I'm sorry," into his ear. I nodded to Pam even though she couldn't see it and headed back out

On my way to the Chinese restaurant I had seen the day before I came across the town's mortuary. I stopped and stared up at the building in awe. The building was covered in bright, glowing blue scriptures. I glanced at the people walking around me and none of them seemed to notice. I walked up to the double doors and noticed another symbols covering the double door.

I reached up and pushed on the door to open it but yanked my hand back as fast as I could. The skin on my hand sizzled from the burn I had just received. My mind was reeling at this point. This had never happened to me before. I knew there were symbols against demons and angels, but were there really ones against the nephilim?

I reached back up and put my hand lightly to the door again only to have it burned once more. There was something in this building that was important to whatever was going on in this town. Whoever was in charge wanted to keep me out – that made me want to get in even more. I pulled out my gun keeping it hidden from the people passing by who were already giving me weird looks.

I put my hand to the door and pushed it open, ignoring the sizzling on my skin as it burned me. I jerked my hand away from the door and took a few steps inside. The room opened up to a large front room where the party was going down without me.

Laying in the middle of the room inside another symbol was an old man and a young woman, both were unconscious. On either side of the circle were two other people, demons I'm guessing while a third man stood with his back to me. I could recognize that demon anywhere – Alastair.

Standing on the other side of the room was Sam and Dean. They were trapped in by some iron chains that had been hung. Alastair knew they were coming. I took another step causing the room's attention to stop on me. Both demons rushed towards me. I took another step and raised my gun and took out one of the demons with two shots.

But I was becoming extremely tired. I was losing energy and I didn't know why. My gaze snapped to the oncoming demon as I raised my gun to him, but had reached me before I had time to pull the trigger. He threw me against the wall causing the gun to fly from my hands. He held me against the wall and I didn't have the energy to fight back.

"CLAIRE!" Dean yelled at me. There was a fearful look on his face which unfortunately Alastair caught. A sneer made its way onto the demons face that was holding me before I received a hard punch to the stomach. I doubled over and fell to the ground when he had let go off me.

I could hear Alastair's cruel laughter before I heard him speaking something in Latin. I heard the gurgling that came with someone getting their throat cut. I watched as one of the reapers fell to the ground, the older one. My attention came back to the demon in front of me when I received a hard kick to the stomach. I groaned before I set my sights on my gun a few feet away. The demon kicked me again inching me closer to my gun. When I was within reach I grabbed it and let off a few rounds into the demon's chest before he fell.

I then looked over to Alastair who was holding the younger reaper, the scythe at her throat. The chandelier hanging above Alastair was shaking and judging by the concentrated looks on the guys face they were trying to get it to fall. I raised my gun with the last amount of energy I had and shot at the chain holding the chandelier. It came crashing down causing the circle holding the reaper to be broken. She disappeared from Alastair's grip before appearing in front of the chain holding the Winchesters captive. She let the Winchesters out before all three disappeared. Seconds later Dean appeared kneeling by my side.

"What in the hell were you thinking?" he asked as he reached forward to help me up only his hands went straight through my body. I looked up just in time to see a murderous look cross Alastair face. He turned to us before marching towards us. A desperate look crossed Dean's face when he noticed Alastair closing in.

"Dean go!" I hissed.

"No!" He growled back. Before he could do anything Alastair had grabbed a rifle and shot Dean causing him to disappear in a shout of pain. Alastair reached me and gave me a kick in the ribs for good measure before he reached down. He got a good grip on my hair at the base of my head before yanking me up off the ground. I let out a cry of pain before he led me out the back of the mortuary and into the alley.

"Like those little spells I left for you on the door?" Alastair growled. As soon as we reached the alley, Alastair had ditched the gun and was now in possession of a knife that was pressed to my throat.

"You can't run, Dean," Alastair called out as Dean appeared in the alley looking around a fearful look on his face. "Not from me. I'm inside that angsty little noggin of yours. Besides you wouldn't wanna leave poor Claire to her death here all alone."

Alastair forced me forward. We both stopped when bolts of lightening hit Alastair full force. I could feel the heat of them on my back and as soon as it had started it was all over. I didn't feel his arms on me and having no energy, I dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"What the hell?" I heard Dean mutter as he fell to his knees next to me.

"Guess again," Castiel's voice answered. That was the last thing I heard before I felt my body being lifted off the ground and the world faded to darkness.

* * *

**Hey everyone...I didn't get any sort of feedback for the last chapter so I'm kind of freaking out! Please leave some sort of message, review, whatever, just something? Pretty please with Dean and Sam on top? Haha anyways if you did read thanks oh so much!**


	19. Losing Faith

_**Chapter 19 – Losing Faith**_

When I opened my eyes, I noticed that wherever I was, it was dimly lit. I shifted my body weight and that was when I noticed I was laying on the ground. I quickly got into a sitting position taking in as much of my surroundings as possible. It looked like an empty, abandoned warehouse. I figured I was by myself, but that was quickly dashed when I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. I looked around for a place to hide and was about to dive for cover when the familiar voice stopped me.

"Hiding is pointless." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Where in the hell are we, Cas?" I asked taking in the angel's solid form.

"Safe. For now," he replied. "I told you to stay away from Alastair."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't exactly know he was holding up in a freaking mortuary," I bit back sarcastically. "It doesn't matter now, just take me back to Sam and Dean."

"I can't do that," he replied apologetically.

"And why the hell not?"

"They are at your friend's funeral." My heart stopped.

"What friend?" I silently prayed that it wasn't who I thought it was.

"You call her Pamela."

I felt the tears build up in my eyes as I thought about her. The angel stood back awkwardly as I wept for my lost friend, remembering the last thing we talked about was whether she wanted food or not. I wasn't sure how long I had sobbed there on the floor but once it was all done Cas was still standing there a sad look on his face as he gazed at me.

"Take me to Sam and Dean. NOW!" I hissed at the angel. I was thrown off guard when a set of hands wrapped around my arm and pulled me up off the floor roughly. I looked over and noticed it wasn't Cas but it was Uriel. Before I could blink the scenery changed again.

"You don't have to manhandle me!" I shouted as Uriel tossed me onto the bed.

"Sit down and shut up," he hissed. The room was dark and anyone could tell it was the inside of a motel room. I sat quietly for a few minutes before the motel room door opened to reveal the Winchesters. The light flipped on and I could tell by the looks on their faces that they weren't expecting us to be there.

"Winchester and Winchester." Uriel spoke first. I jumped up ready to run to the brothers but Uriel's gaze snapped to me. "Sit down, you abomination."

"Oh, come on," Dean spoke up.

"You are needed," Uriel stated his gaze back on the brothers.

"Needed? We just got back from needed!" Dean replied angrily.

"Now, mind your tone with me," Uriel replied calmly. I stood back up and was thankful that I didn't get a response to doing it.

"No, you mind your damn tone with us," Dean snapped.

"We just got back from Pamela's funeral," Sam stated stepping between Dean and Uriel.

"Pamela. You know, psychic Pamela? You remember her. Cas, you remember her," He threw that last bit at Castiel. "You burned her eyes out. Remember that? Good times. Yeah then she died saving one of your precious seals. So maybe you can stop pushing us around like chess pieces for five freaking minutes!"

"We raised you out of hell for our purposes," Uriel reminded Dean before he reached behind and grabbed a hold of my arm and yanked me forward.

"Yeah, what were those, again? What exactly do you want from me?" Dean asked eying the grip Uriel had on my arm.

"You can start with gratitude." Uriel growled. Dean replied sarcastically before Cas spoke up.

"Dean, we know this is difficult to understand."

"And we..." Uriel added, "don't care."

It was almost like Uriel was trying to prove a point. After he said that a sudden pain ripped through my body accompanied by the high pitched frequency angels are associated with. I cried out in pain and would have fallen if it hadn't been for Uriel's tight grip on my arm. He must have gotten the response out of Dean that he wanted because the pain suddenly stopped and Uriel started to talk again.

"Now, seven angels have been murdered. All of them from our garrison. The last one was killed tonight."

"Demons?" Dean asked weakly his gaze on me before turning to him. Uriel shrugged his shoulders. "How are they doing it?"

"We don't know," Uriel replied.

"I'm sorry, but what do you want us to do about it?" Sam asked. "A demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of our league."

"We can handle the demons, thank you very much," Uriel snapped. I struggled to get out of Uriel's grip but his hand only tightened on my arm.

"Once we find whoever it is," Cas added.

"So you need our help hunting a demon?" Dean asked trying to get it straight.

"Not quite," Cas replied walking forward so he was standing next to me. "We have Alastair."

"Great. He should name your trigger man."

"But he won't talk. Alastair's will is very strong. We've arrived at an impasse."

"He's, like, a black belt in torture," Dean retorted. "I mean, you guys are out of your league."

"That's why we've come to his student." Uriel finished. "You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we've got."

"Dean, you are our best hope," Cas added when Dean put his head down.

"No!" I struggled against Uriel. "You are not gonna put him through that." I hissed at both angels. Dean glanced at me before looking at the two angels as well.

"You heard her. No. No way. You can't ask me to do this, Cas. Not this."

Uriel let go of my arm and pushed me into Cas. I could tell that Cas was reluctantly holding onto me as Uriel stalked forward towards Dean

"Who said anything about asking?"

In the blink of an eye the four of us were back at the warehouse – when I say the four of us I mean me, Uriel, Cas, and Dean. Sam got left behind. I stumbled back as soon as Cas let go of me. I looked over at Dean and rushed over to him wrapping my arms around him.

I was thankful when I felt his arms go around me. I felt him rest his chin on my head while I kept an iron grip on him. It all ended too soon when he walked over to Cas who was standing by a steel door with a small window in it. I went to follow but Uriel had grabbed a hold of me keeping me from moving.

"This devil's trap is old Enochian. He's bound completely."

"Fascinating. Where's the door?" Dean asked before retreating away from the steel door.

"Where are you going?" Cas asked.

"We are going to hitch back to Cheyenne, thank you very much," Dean retorted before grabbing my hand as he kept marching away from the angels. We both came to a complete stop as Uriel appeared in front of us.

"Angels are dying, boy."

"Everybody's dying these days. And hey I get it. You're all-powerful; you can make me do whatever you want. But you can't make me do this."

"This is too much to ask, I know," Cas replied as he walked towards us. "But we have to ask it."

"I want to talk to Cas and Claire...alone," Dean threw at Uriel.

"I think I'll go seek revelation. We might have some further orders."

"Well, get some donuts while you're out," Dean retorted sarcastically.

"Ah, this one just won't quit, will he? I think I'm starting to like you boy." Uriel stated.

"Just go the hell away," I replied causing Uriel to snap an angry glare in my direction before he disappeared.

"You guys don't walk enough. You're gonna get flabby," Dean commented the mood lightening just a little. "You know, I'm starting to think junkless has a better sense of humor than you do."

"Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. Ask anyone," Cas replied seriously. By look on Dean's face I could tell he didn't know what to say to that. I let out a small laugh before the mood in the room suddenly dropped again.

"What's going on Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?"

"My superiors have begun to question my sympathies," Cas answered glancing at me before turning to look back at Dean.

"Sympathies?" I asked.

"I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. You. They feel I've begun to express emotions. The doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgment."

"Well, tell Uriel, or whoever...you do not want me doing this, trust me." Dean said as he turned away from me and Cas before going to stand near the door.

"Want it? No. But I have been told we need it."

"You ask me to open that door and walk through it...you will not like what walks back out." I shook my head as I listened to Dean's voice break at the very end.

"For what it's worth – I would give anything not to have you do this."

I shook my head in denial. This wasn't gonna end well and Dean did not deserve to go through that pain.

"No. Cas you can't make him do it! Please. You just can't," my voice broke as I begged the angel.

"There's no other choice," the angel looked down at me with sympathy in his eyes.

I turned to Dean who still had his back to us. I walked around and stood in front of him noting the pained look on his face. I reached up and gently brushed away a stray tear that had fallen. He shook his head slowly as he gazed down at me. The sound of a cart broke through the silence as Cas pushed it up next to us before retreating back.

"Dean-"

"I love you too," he whispered as he put his forehead against mine. I stared up at him in shock for a moment before he pressed his lips to mine. Before I had time to respond he had pulled back and was pushing the cart of torture tools into the room where Alastair was hanging. I stared after him helplessly until the door closed behind him. I snapped around and faced Castiel.

"You have no idea what you've just done." I growled before walking up to him. "You've just destroyed your only chance of winning this war."

I shook my head before I turned away from Cas and back to the door. I walked over to the door but didn't glance in. Instead I leaned against the wall next to it before slowly sliding down until I was seated on the floor. I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees and listened to the muffled voices inside. It didn't take long for Alastair's muffled screams to reach my ears. I closed my eyes tightly after I caught the horrified look on the angel's face.

I wasn't sure how long it had been but it seemed like forever, between Alastair's moaning and Castiel's constant shifting I was ready to just burst into that room and pull Dean out. I didn't know why but I needed someone here who could help and only one person came to mind.

_Anna, if you can hear me, please. I need your help. Dean needs your help_. I prayed silently hoping she heard it. The lights started flickering before one blew out. I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed the redhead appear behind Cas.

"Anna," Cas acknowledged.

"Hello, Castiel." I quickly stood up.

"Your human body..."

"It was destroyed. I know. But...I guess I'm sentimental. Called in some old favors and..."

"You shouldn't be here," Cas responded. "We still have orders to kill you."

"Somehow I don't think you'll try." Anna then noticed me before she walked over to where I was. She laid a hand softly on my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but Dean isn't." I replied softly.

"Where's Uriel?" Anna asked turning away from me and back to Cas.

"He went to receive revelation."

"Right. Why are you letting Dean do this?"

"He's doing God's work," Cas responded before turning away.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled at the angel. "Torturing a demon? That's HIS work?"

"Claire," Anna said softly putting a hand on my shoulder. "Stop him, Cas, please. Before you ruin the one real weapon you have."

"Who are we to question the will of God?" Cas asked.

"Unless it isn't his will." I looked at Anna questioningly before looking to Cas for an answer.

"Then where do the orders come from?"

"I don't know. One of our superiors maybe, but not Him." Anna walked closer to Cas. "The Father you love, you think he wants this? You think he'd ask this of you? You think this is righteous? What you're feeling...it's called doubt."

I flinched and tried to hold back the sob stuck in my throat as I listened to the constant moans and screams from Alastair. Not because he was in pain but because Dean was the one causing the pain. Each and every time Alastair screamed out, the hole in Dean's chest grew bigger and bigger. I gazed helplessly at the door.

"These orders are wrong and you know it. Look at her," Anna whispered to Cas and nodding her head in my direction. "Not only are you killing Dean, but you're killing the person who loves him the most. The person whose fate decides the outcome of this war. But you can do the right thing. You're afraid, Cas, I was too. But together we can st-"

"Together?" Cas' voice broke through her lecture. "I am nothing like you. You fell. Go!"

"Cas..."

"Go!" Cas' voice deepened even more and sounded much more menacing.

I shook my head before stalking up to the angel. I threw my fist as hard as I could at his jaw, only to pull my hand back more injured than him. I then resorted to pushing him forcefully which caused him to stumble back a few steps.

"You just got rid of our last chance at saving him!" I screamed. I threw my fists at Cas' chest again and again, while he just stood there and took it. I finally stopped when I noticed Alastair had been quiet for way too long. "Cas."

"I noticed." He replied. We both rushed to the door to see that Alastair was no longer tied up and he was now beating the life out of Dean. Cas went through the door first and up to the duo. On the way he had grabbed Ruby's knife that was sitting on the table and jammed it into Alastair's chest right above his heart.

The demon dropped the bloodied Winchester as he set his sights on Cas. I rushed in and fell to the ground next to Dean who was out of it. He was struggling to keep his eyes open while Cas and Alastair duked it out.

"Hey, Dean. Dean look at me!" I begged. When his eyes finally met mine I smiled a bit. "That's good; I need you to stay with me okay stay with me, please. Dean!" I shook my head and patted his cheek as his eyes fell shut and he slipped into the unconscious.

I heard a sickening crunch as Alastair slammed Cas' body into some metal that was sticking out of the wall suspending the angel in the air. Alastair talked for a moment before reciting some Latin causing Cas to light up like a Christmas tree. I quickly stood up and charged at Alastair; wrapping my arms around his waist I drug him away from Cas and to the ground with me.

I quickly sat up and straddled the demon before throwing punch after punch to his face. I wasn't sure whose blood was on my knuckles, his or mine but I didn't stop punching until he got the upper hand. He threw me off of him before he shakily stood up. I mirrored his actions before charging at him again. This time he was ready for me and before I knew it I was flying through the air. The solid metal of the large David Star hit my back causing me to go crashing down with the contraption Alastair had been tied to earlier.

The shock of the sudden hit had knocked the wind right out of me. I didn't get the chance to defend myself before Alastair wrapped his bony hands around my neck. I struggled against Alastair's grip but he was too strong. Black dots were starting to blur my vision; I struggled less and less until suddenly all of Alastair's weight had disappeared. I struggled to get up but from lack of energy I couldn't.

I heard Sam's voice and Alastair's but after a while it all just started to blend together. My eyes snapped wide open when I heard the distinct painful screams that usually accompanied demon smoke. I glanced over to where Alastair was and just saw a light emanating from the demon's body. I then looked back and noticed Sam was doing his thing and trying to kill Alastair, using his mind.

"SAM! NO!" I screamed as loud as I could, but it was no use. Alastair's limp body fell to the ground its eyes opened in shock. I closed my eyes and laid my head back down in defeat. Alastair was the last one who had my grace. Now I had no clue where it was at.

* * *

The next few hours flew past in a blob of colors and sounds. I was poked and prodded for the next few hours before I was let go saying I was gonna be okay. Dean on the other hand was up in ICU and I was itching to get up there. I flew through the hospital before I reached Dean's room.

Sam was sitting in the chair next to his brother staring intently at Dean's vitals. I slowly walked into the room catching the younger man's attention. I nodded slowly before standing at the foot of Dean's bed. Sam stood up and walked towards me and I was preparing myself for the yelling and the screaming that was sure to come only to be caught off guard by him wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. I gladly accepted this before wrapping my arms around him as well.

"Sam, I'm so sorry. For everything, I'm sorry," I stuttered as I pulled away.

"I know," Sam replied before he pulled me into another hug. "I'm sorry too."

I let out a sigh before I moved past Dean and over to Dean's side. I listened to the constant rhythm of his heartbeat as I gazed onto his battered face. I shook my head before I reached down and grabbed his hand gently with my own. I leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his temple before pulling back and turning to Sam, who had been watching me intently.

"He was freaking out when you disappeared after we saved the seals. He was scared that we were gonna lose you too," Sam's voice cut through the silence. "I never thought—I never thought he would find someone."

"I love him, Sam. I know me and you have a past but-"

"It was never meant to be me." Sam finished. I nodded glad he understood that. "Promise me something. Promise me that when this is all over, you're gonna get him out of this life. Settle down in the country somewhere and have a few kids." I chuckled at the thought. "You both deserve it."

"We're all gonna get out of this, Sam. We always manage to get out of tight spots like this. But I don't know if that's a realistic promise. Dean is so broken and I will do everything I can to help heal him, but I don't know if that will be enough."

Sam nodded his head and opened his mouth to say something but stopped when something at the door caught his attention. I swung around and saw that Castiel was standing in the doorway looking at Dean's broken form. Sam motioned for me to stay here before he chased after Cas. I walked over to the seat Sam and been in earlier and sat down before pulling Dean's hand into mine.

I could hear their muffled voices before Sam came storming back into the room. He nodded slightly at me before I stood up quickly and out of the room. Cas was still standing there a guilty and contemplative look on his face. It took his a moment to realize I was standing there but when he did a sad look crossed his face when his eyes landed on the bruises around my neck.

"Lovely aren't they?" I asked rhetorically.

"Claire-"

"I don't wanna hear it. What happened to Dean was unnecessary and you know it." I watched as Cas lowered his head. "Alastair had my grace."

"You're sure?" Cas asked his head snapping up his piercing blue eyes meeting mine. I nodded my head absently.

"Sam killed him. I have no clue where it is now." I muttered. "Find out who cause all this."

With that being said I turned on my heel and headed back into Dean's private hospital room. Upon entering I noticed Sam was sitting in the chair set up against the wall leaving the one set up next to Dean's bed empty. I gave him a grateful look before sitting down and taking Dean's hand in my own.

Sam and I sat in compatible silence for a few hours before my stomach growling broke through the constant beeping of Dean's heart monitor. A small grin found its way onto the younger man's face before he looked up at me. I could feel the heat in my cheeks before I buried my head in the mattress next to Dean's hand.

"I'll go get us something," Sam spoke up a slight smile on his face.

"I'll go with. I need to stretch my legs. Besides it was my stomach that growled." Right after I said that I heard the growl of protest come from Sam's stomach. "I stand corrected."

Sam wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close before we headed out of the room. We had made it nearly to the cafeteria when I remembered I had left my cell phone and jacket back in the room. I told Sam that I would be right back and quickly made my way back up to the room. I froze when I heard Cas and Dean's voices drifting into the hallway.

"You need to be more careful," Cas spoke softly, I had to strain my ears to hear it.

"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap," Dean retorted groggily.

"That's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?" I tilted me head towards the doors opening at the question, but remained hidden.

"It was disobedience," Cas responded. I was even more confused with his answer. "He was working against us."

"Is it true?" Dean asked after a moment of silence. "Did I break the first seal?" I gaped at the question. No it wasn't possible. "Did I start all of this?"

"Yes," Cas answered. I put my hand over my mouth to keep any noise from coming out. "When we discovered Lilith's plan for you we laid siege to hell...and we fought our way to get to you before you-"

"Jump-started the apocalypse." Dean finished.

"And we were too late." Upon hearing this I slowly slid to the floor my back against the wall. I placed my hand on my forehead and listened intently.

"Why didn't you just leave me there, then?"

"It's not blame that falls on you, Dean...its fate." Cas responded. "The righteous man, who begins it, is the only one who can help the nephilim end it."

My head snapped up when I heard the last part. The only one who can help the nephilim end it. I hope the hell he wasn't talking about me.

"You and Claire have to stop it." I stopped breathing all together when I heard this. This cannot be happening.

"Lucifer?" Dean asked. I shook my head in denial. "The apocalypse? What does that mean?" Cas didn't respond. "Hey. Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean?"

"I don't know," he finally said.

"Bull," Dean replied angrily.

"I don't. Dean, they don't tell me much. I know now our fate rests with you and Claire."

"Well then you guys are screwed. Claire doesn't deserve any of this. And I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. It's too big for either of us. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not strong enough. Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads's wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me. I won't let it take Claire down either."

I laid my head silently against the wall before I heard the fluttering of wings. Cas was gone leaving Dean in there all by himself. I shook my head not believing what I had just heard. The end of the apocalypse was riding on my and Dean's shoulders. I started shaking in worry. If they were leaving this all in my hands they were gonna be let down in the worse way.

I quickly got to my feet when I noticed an approaching nurse. She asked if I was okay and I nodded quickly before taking off down the hall. I wasn't really sure where I was going but I was on autopilot, I really didn't care. My breathing was getting sharper and quick, I'm sure I was on the edge of having a panic attack. I walked out of the hospital doors shaking my hands before running them through my hair.

Four years ago I was just some girl from a normal little town in Texas... Lynx Creek, Texas to be exact. And now I find out that the fate of the world is up to me? Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME! If I wasn't emotionally unstable as it was, I definitely was now! I kept walking before I slammed right into a solid form.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled before glancing up at the older man I had run into.

"It's no problem." He smiled before he pressed his middle and forefinger to my forehead plunging my world once again into darkness.

* * *

**Haha, I looked at my last chapter and realized it was a really long one! Anyways I would like to thank _ks90_ for reviewing my story! It really made my day and I decided to post another chapter dedicated to you! So this one is for you, _ks90_!**


	20. It's A Terrible Life

_**Chapter 20 – It's A Terrible Life**_

I groaned when I heard the loud beeping of the alarm clock that was so strategically placed next to my head. I slapped my hand down on the annoying little box before I got out of my bed and walked towards the shower. I pulled out the little scale that was placed between the tub and toilet. I cautiously stepped on it and was satisfied when the numbers showed 124. Jumping into the shower I only took 15 minutes before jumping back out and getting dressed.

I glanced curiously through my closet for an outfit before I ended up with a black pencil skirt and a bright fuchsia colored blouse. I ran a brush through my naturally straight auburn hair before putting on a pair of black pumps, grabbing my blackberry and walking to the kitchen to make some coffee before I headed out to work.

I finally got my coffee how I wanted it before I grabbed my purse and headed out the front door to my apartment. I stopped and glanced at the picture of me and my best friend, Alexandra. We looked so much alike you could probably call us twins. I smiled sadly thinking about her untimely death last year before heading out my front door, locking it behind me.

The trip to work wasn't very long, nothing compared to the long days spent daily at Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc. The life of an assistant wasn't very glamorous, but it was only temporary until Carter got back from Iraq. I smiled thinking of my fiancé. I pushed through the glass double doors of the buildings entrance before making my way to the elevator. I glanced down at my watch and almost dropped dead when I noticed the time.

I quickly my pace to reach the elevator faster. I called out for them to hold the elevator and was glad the new director of Sales & Marketing was there to hold the doors open for me.

"Morning Mr. Smith," I smiled brightly at the young man.

"Morning, Ms. Dawson." He replied curtly.

I took in his appearance before turning back to my blackberry. Dean Smith, what was there to say about this handsome young director? Other than the fact that he has reached such a high position for someone his age he was probably the most handsome guy in the entire building and if I wasn't already happily engaged I would have jumped his bones the moment I met him. I wasn't sure what it was about him but every time he flashed those pearly whites at me I went weak in the knees. I shook my head before exiting the elevator at the appropriate floor.

"Good Morning, Mr. Adler." I smiled graciously at the older CEO of Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc.

"That it is, Ms. Dawson. Do you have the reports for me?" He asked jumping right into business an agreeable smirk on his face.

"Of course. All the marketing finances you asked me to get you and a list of statistics regarding both our technical branch and customer services."

"Thank you, Ms. Dawson."

"Anything else, Mr. Adler?"

"No, that will be all." He brushed me off grabbing the folder and all its contents before disappearing off down the hallway.

I rolled my eyes before making my way back down the hallway and towards the elevator. I moseyed my way down to the technical support level. I glanced out over the cubicles before my eyes landed on a familiar head. I walked over to the designated cubical before coming to a stop behind him.

"Excuse me sir, but I think you need to come with me," I said in my best authoritative voice. I grinned as he turned around and stared up at me a smirk on his face.

"Really?" he asked amused. I noticed that Ian had turned around to watch what was going on as well.

"Uh huh," I retorted. "How ya doing today Sam?"

"Same shit, different day," Ian spoke up from behind me. I turned to look at the laid back tech as he swiveled around in his chair. I grinned when he stopped spinning and looking at me expectantly.

"Where do ya want it today, Ian?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"You really want me to answer that."

"No, Ian I will not have sex with you, nor will I ever have sex with you; I'm off the market." I replied pointing to the ring on my finger before I leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"See that's all I needed."

"Uh huh," I laughed before turning and planting one on Sam's cheek as well.

"You heard anything from Carter?"

"No," I sighed before leaning against Sam's small desk. "He said I may not hear from him for a few weeks, but it still doesn't calm my nerves. Have you heard from Madison?"

Sam shook his head no saying how he meant to call her last night but didn't get around to it. I nodded absently before my phone started ringing. I noticed the call was coming from Mr. Adler's office so I quickly answered it and got my next set of instructions. I said bye to the guys before hurrying up to Marketing and Sales.

I knocked on the finely polished door that led into Dean Smith's office. I smiled politely at the working man as he waved me in before standing awkwardly in the middle of the room as he finished his phone call.

"Well hello again, Ms. Dawson." He looked me up and down before another knock came at the door.

"Mr. Adler," Dean acknowledged the older man.

"Dean," Mr. Adler said as he and Dean shook hands. "I see you've met your new assistant."

"Sir?" I asked confused.

"Yes, I decided this morning that Dean really needed someone who knew what they were doing and you were the first person who popped in mind."

"Thank you sir," I nodded.

"Take care of her, Dean. She's the best."

"I will put her to good use, Mr. Adler."

"I'm sure you will. Good day you two." Mr. Adler grinned like he knew a secret before quickly leaving the room.

"Okay, well I will give you my cell phone number and if you ever need anything all you have to do is call or page me and I will be right here."

Dean nodded as I wrote down my phone number before taping it to the desktop next to his phone. Before he could say anything, his phone started ringing again and he jumped right back into his work. The day went by a lot faster than it usually did, I mean there was barely any down time between helping Dean finish some marketing reports and running different folders to different floor constantly. I was almost glad for the change of pace from working in Mr. Adler's office – it helped that I was working with an impeccably gorgeous man.

But the time 10 o'clock rolled around I was beat and that was rare. By the time I had made it home I was about ready to just drop. Oh lord have mercy, it was only Tuesday.

* * *

I sighed as I waited for Dean to come into the office. I was right on time and he still wasn't here. I shook my head before I got an IM from 'Sam Wesson'. I smiled slightly before IM opened it, but the IM wiped the smile right off my face. I quickly made my way back to the elevator and down to the tech floor.

"What happened?" I asked out of breath as I reached Sam who was standing near the kitchen area on the tech floor.

"Paul stuck his head in a microwave last night." Sam replied bluntly.

"What? Paul Dunbar? That makes no sense...Paul was a few weeks away from retiring. Why would he do that?" I asked quickly.

"I don't know..." Sam trailed off. He was staring at something behind me. I turned around and saw that he was staring at my new boss.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Dean Smith. Do you know him?" I asked again.

"Uh we met in the elevator." He shrugged while Dean gave him a weird look.

"He's my new boss."

"What happened to Mr. Adler?"

"I don't know. I just got that call yesterday and was told I would report to Mr. Smith from now on. Crazy, right?"

"Yeah, crazy," Sam replied absently.

"Is it just me or is that dude freakishly tan?" Ian asked coming up to us. Sam and I both turned and gave Ian a weird look before the three of us went in our own directions. The day wasn't very productive sees as how everyone was still going on about Paul's untimely death. I thought it was just bad taste at how everyone couldn't keep their nose out of the poor man's business.

The next day however was different. Most of the buzz had calmed down and things had returned to normal except for a few people who were still curious about what had gone on. Most of the morning I kept getting texts from Sam asking why Paul would do it or he would come up with these crazy ideas as to what happened. Then he told me about how weird Ian was acting and then I caught Dean looking up Paul's records on his computer! And that was all before lunch!

"Hey, Claire, I need you to run these down to Tech." Dean said handing me a folder.

"Yeah, sure." I replied quickly getting up. I moved around his desk and grabbed the folder. By the grace of god I had no idea what had happened, but I tripped. I could feel Dean's arms wrapping around my waist and hauling me up.

"You should be more careful," he said his face unreasonably close to mine. We stayed like that for a few moments and I couldn't help but think that we probably looked like a total cliché right about now.

"Thanks," I muttered softly before grabbing the folder and making my way downstairs blushing as I did so.

Thankfully it didn't take long to get there and I gave the folder to who it needed to go to before I made a detour to Sam's cubical. I glanced over at Ian's station and had to do a double check because the guy sitting there didn't look like Ian at all. Well it did but he wasn't breaking dress code and had shaved. What in the hell was going on around here.

"Hey Ian," I said softly and I could tell I spooked him.

"I'm sorry. I'm working." He said abruptly before turning back to his computer. I turned to look at Sam before I sat on his knee and stared at him.

"What's up with him?"

"He got called up to H.R. yesterday."

"Human resources? For what?" I asked after glancing at Ian once more.

"Don't know but whatever it was it had to be bad. I mean he's wearing his shirt."

Sam and I both glanced at Ian curiously as he talked on the phone with someone before he hung up and actually straightened his shirt. He noticed both of us staring before telling us what was up.

"Gotta go up to 22, speak to a manager." Ian then quickly moved away.

"Oh shit! Dean, I totally forgot. I'm sorry, Sam, I have to get back up there. Maybe I can get what's going on out of Ian." I pecked Sam on the cheek before jogging to catch up to Ian. Once we got in the elevator I glanced at Ian who seemed antsy.

"How are you Ian? You seem nervous."

"I'm fine," He answered not even looking at me.

"If there's something going on you know you can talk to me right?" I asked before the lights suddenly went out in the elevator. I looked up nervously as they came back on. I let out a sigh of relief and was taken back by the fact that I could see my breath and it had gotten mysteriously cold in the elevator. Ian didn't seem to notice. I was glad when we had gotten off the elevator and we both headed towards Dean's office. I walked right in while Ian knocked.

"Hi, Ian, is it? Yeah, come on in. Yesterday you filled out a 445-T and no problem, just a few errors when we did your switch to Vista," Dean got right to the point. "So I'm sure you're used to filling out the dash-R's, am I right?"

"Oh, no," Ian gawked at Dean.

"No, no. It's fine. It's fine. I just need you to redo one today so I can get the show on the road with the invoicing." All while Dean was talking I was getting the necessary paperwork together so I could give it to Ian. I handed it to Dean who then set it on his desk in front of Ian.

"Oh my God," Ian whimpered.

"No, it's fine. Re-file it and we're square."

"I can't believe I did this," Ian muttered.

"Ian, are you okay?" I asked. This was not typical Ian behavior. Usually he would just take the form and get it over with in a laid back attitude, but now he's acting like he made a mistake that would cost the company millions and that was definitely not the case.

"I can't believe—I can't believe I did this," Ian kept repeating.

"Hey guy. Come on." Dean tried calming him down.

"No, no!" Ian continued. It was like he was having a mental breakdown or something. "It affected profits. It—I screwed up! I—I can't—I can't—I am so sorry. I- How could I do that? I failed Sandover. I failed the company."

"Why don't you sit down, Ian?" Dean said after I gave him a look that clearly said 'do something'.

"No," he mumbled before bolting out of the room.

"Ian!" I called out before running after the guy. Something was wrong because this was not how Ian acted – ever. Dean followed after me and had finally caught up to me when I reached the entrance to the men's bathroom. Of course I couldn't go in so I let Dean take charge. I let out a sigh and froze when I could see my own breath like the air was cold.

"Dean!" I called out as I went to push the door open only it would budge. I pushed harder before I realized the door wasn't coming open. "Somebody help!" I yelled as I banged my fist against the door. Another man in a business suit helped me push against the door but it still wouldn't move. I heard Dean shouting for help inside and just like that the door swung open. Luckily I caught myself before I fell and the other guy looked just as surprised that the door had opened like that.

I let out a scream when I noticed Ian was lying on the floor a pencil embedded in his neck. There was blood pooling out around him. A hand flew to my mouth in shock as Dean stared at me a helpless look on his face. The guy who had helped me get in was already on the phone with the police.

By the time they got here a crowd had already gathered outside the bathroom. That included Sam. I gave the officer my statement before moving over and explained to Sam what had happened. From the moment we left the tech floor to the office freak out and finally the bathroom finale. The cops released both me and Dean which allowed us to go back to his office while Sam made his way back down to the tech floor.

"I need to see you in my office. Now." When he got off the phone I noticed Dean still had some blood on his shirt.

"Dean, you have-" I cut myself off pointing to the thick, glossy liquid on the bottom of his shirt.

"Damn it," he muttered before fiddling with his tie. His hands were shaking so I reached up and brought his hands down and undid his tie before letting his unbutton his own shirt. I turned away as he shed his shirt.

I turned just in time to see Dean finished buttoning up his shirt. I caught a glimpse at the chiseled chest that was underneath before my gaze was adverted to the knocking on the door.

"Come on in," Dean said noticing it was Sam. "Shut the door." Sam complied before he turned to look at Dean. "Who the hell are you?"

"Dean!" I scolded.

"What it's an honest question!" He retorted.

Sam scoffed, "I'm not sure I know."

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked sounding just as confused as I felt.

"Sam Wesson. I started here three weeks ago."

"All right. You cornered me in the elevator talking about ghosts. And now..." Dean trailed off.

"Now what?" Sam asked. I was glancing between the two sporadically a confused look plastered on my face.

"Now nothing – uh I..." Dean stopped himself. "So you started working here three weeks ago, huh?" Sam nodded. "Yeah me too."

That was odd. I mean, yeah I knew that Sam and I had started here around the same time and I knew Dean was new as well but I didn't realize he had started the same time me and Sam did. This was all a little too coincidental for my tastes.

"It's the master cleanse. You tried it?" Dean asked holding up a jar of some nasty looking liquid. "Phenomenal. Detoxes you like nobody's business."

"He's been drinking it the past two day," I muttered as Dean took a swig of it.

"When you were in that bathroom with Ian...did you see something?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I saw." Dean replied as he tried to wrap his mind around it himself.

"Wait. Are you saying that-?" Sam stopped before glancing at me then back to Dean. "Did you see a ghost?"

"I was freaking out. The guy penciled his damn neck."

"You did didn't you?"

"Sam, stop!" I cut in trying to get him to slow down for a second because all this was freaking us out more.

"What if these suicides aren't suicides? What if they're something not natural?"

"So what ghosts are real?" Dean asked not believing it. I shook my head not believing that Dean was egging Sam on. I sat down in the nearest chair and tried to digest everything that was being said. "And they're responsible for all the dead bodies around here? Is that what you're telling me?

"I know it sounds crazy."

"We are way past crazy, Sam," I cut in.

"I know, but that's what I'm telling you."

"Uh huh, based on what?" Dean asked still not buying into Sam's story. I watched as Sam hesitated for a moment. Oh this outta be good.

"Instinct." He finally said.

"I've got the same instinct," Dean replied a few moments later.

"Seriously?" I asked glancing between the two.

"You know those dreams I was telling you about? I was dreaming about ghosts," Sam spoke quickly like he was an excited kid in a candy store. "And then it turns out there's a real ghost."

"So you're telling me that your dreams are special visions...and you're some kind of psychic?"

"Yeah, and angels are real too." I answered sarcastically. "Come on guys, think about this realistically."

"Claire's right that would be nuts. I'm just saying something weird is definitely going on around here, right? So I've been digging around a little. I think I found a connection between the two guys."

"You broke into their email accounts?" Dean asked glancing over the pages Sam had just given him. Sam looked like a deer in the headlights with his eyes wide and an innocent look on his face.

"I used some skills that I happen to have to satisfy my curiosity," Sam struggled to find the right words.

"Nice." Dean commented.

"Yeah, okay. So it turns out Ian and Paul both got the same email..."

"Telling them to report to H.R., room 1444," I finished for Sam as I read the email from my blackberry.

"Yeah how did you know?"

"Jack down in Tech just got the same email. He forwarded it to me asking if I knew anything about it."

"H.R.'s on seven," Dean commented as he grabbed my blackberry out of my hand and read over the email.

"Exactly."

"Shouldn't we go check this out or something?" I asked looking between the two and the email on my phone.

"Like right now?" Sam asked.

"No. No, it's getting late. You're right." Dean spoke up.

"I am dying to check this out right now," Sam stated.

"Right?" Dean added.

"Boys," I muttered rolling my eyes. We all three stood up before both sets of eyes were glued to my form.

"What?" I asked glancing down to make sure nothing was wrong with my outfit before I touched my hair to make sure it was still up in the clip.

"I don't want you getting hurt, sees as how you are a girl and all. Maybe it would be best if you stayed here, where it's safe." Dean said looking at me.

"Well, I'm glad you can see that I'm a girl Mr. Smith, but just because I do happen to be a girl doesn't mean I'm gonna sit back and let you two wackos have all the fun." I answered before walking out of the room first, but not without muttering "Sexist," in their direction.

It didn't take long before we reached the 14th floor. The elevators in this place had been making me nervous since I rode in that one with Ian earlier today. I was instantly regretting my choice of wearing pumps today as I followed the guys as quickly as I could. Once we rounded the corner towards 1444, we heard a man yelling for help. All three of us quickened our pace towards the door.

"Whoa," Dean commented when Sam kicked down the door when it would open. Sam looked just as surprised as Dean and I were.

We all hurried into the room only to come to the sight of Jack lying underneath a shelving unit that had fallen on top of him. Around the room, computer monitors that weren't connected to anything were on and displaying white noise. I leaned down and tried helping Sam and Dean pick up the unit but it immediately fell back on Jack when Dean and Sam's hold disappeared.

I looked up just in time to see and older man, who was slightly translucence. He had thrown Sam and Dean in opposite directions away from me and Jack. I let go of the unit before holding my hands up ready to fight. The older man just looked past me and towards Jack who was still lying there helplessly. The ghost held up his hand and it looked like electricity passed through his fingers. My eyes were wide but it didn't stop what I did next. I jumped in front of Jack ready to take the electricity for him but I luckily didn't have to. Dean had wrapped an iron wrench and swung it at the ghost effectively making it disappear.

"How'd you know how to do that?" Sam asked after he helped Jack get out from under the unit.

"I have no idea," Dean said seeming in awe with himself. Hell I was in awe at what these guys are doing. Sam going all ninja on the door and Dean saving my life.

* * *

"Are you sure?" I asked for like the hundredth time. I could tell the Army officer was getting annoyed.

"Yes ma'am, there is no one registered here by the name of Carter Reeves. I'm sorry," he responded before hanging up.

"Thanks," I muttered hanging up on my end. I walked into the living room where Dean was pacing sporadically and Sam was watching him an alarmed look on his face.

"Holy crap, dude," Dean finally said taking a drink of his cleansing stuff.

"Yeah. I could use a beer," Sam responded.

"Oh sorry, man. I'm on the cleanse. I got rid of all the carbs in the house."

"Really? You seem like a beer guy to me," I replied before taking in his overdone apartment. It was beautiful but it is nothing I would be able to afford.

"How the hell did you know ghosts are scared of wrenches?" Sam asked.

"Crazy, right?" Dean responded handing me and Sam each a water bottle. "And nice job kicking in that door too. That was very Jet Li. What are you, like a black belt or something?

"No! I have no clue how I did that. It's like we've done this before."

"What do you mean 'before'? Like Shirley MacLaine before?"

I slowly sat down away from the guys before putting my head in my hands. I had a headache coming on and it was by far the worst I've felt in a while. I could have swore there was a high pitched frequency sound running through the air but neither guy acknowledged it. I tried to focus on the conversation in front of me but I couldn't. I caught a few things like Sam not liking anything about him that he was destined for something else.

Dean claimed he didn't believe in destiny. I scoffed at the idea, but in some warped way that made perfect sense. Dean said they had to deal with what was in front of them and he was gonna do what he did best.

"We do what I do best, Sammy. Research."

"I'm sorry, whose been doing the research the past 2 days?" I asked standing up.

"We'll do what Claire and I do best," Dean corrected himself. Sam nodded his head for a moment before some unknown emotion came over his face.

"Did you just call me Sammy?"

"Did I?"

"I think you did. Yeah. Don't."

"Sorry," Dean muttered as the two went different directions.

The research went on for a little more than an hour before Dean's voice broke through the silence.

"Jackpot! I just found the best site ever. Real, actual ghost hunters." Dean was in awe of whatever he fond. "These guys are genius. Check it out."

"Instructional videos." I said looking at the site.

"_We know why you're watching,_" the guy with beard said as he pointed a pointer at the camera.

"_You've got a problem_," guy 2 stated.

"_A ghost problem_," Beard man added.

"_A ghost-related problem_," guy 2 stumbled. "_A ghost- It's like a ghost-adjacent pr- It's like a problem that's-_"

"_Whatever,_" Beard man said cutting off the other guy's rambling. "_You've come to the right place. The only decent place, really, because the Ghostfacers know how to solve it._"

"_Period._"

"_Watch and learn,_" Beard man said as the camera zoomed in on his face.

"_The first step in any supernatural fight:_" guy 2 started.

"_Figure out what you're up against!_" Both instructed.

"Awesome," I muttered. "We know it's a ghost. But we don't know who."

"Let's find out," Sam replied before typing furiously on the keyboard before pulling up the Sandover website.

"That's him. That's the ghost!" Dean said point to the picture of company founder P.T. Sandover.

"P.T. Sandover?" I asked before reading what it said on the site. "Died in 1916. Total workaholic. No wife, no kids. Hey sounds like you Dean."

"Used to say he was the company. His very blood pumped through the building," Sam finished before Dean could say anything back.

"Wow, okay. So _slight_ workaholic," Dean said throwing the last bit at me. "Maybe he's still here, you know, watching over the company even killing for it."

"Turns out, this isn't the first time people started killing themselves in the building. 1929."

"Black Tuesday. That's when the stock market crashed," I commented.

"Yeah, but lots of guys jumped off high rises that year."

"How many companies had 17 suicides?" Sam retorted.

"Okay, so P.T. Sandover, protector of the company. His ghost wakes up and becomes active during times of grave economic distress."

"Well, the worst time we've seen since the Great Depression-"

"Is now," Dean and I said at the same time.

"Yeah. Now sucks," Dean added. "My portfolio's in the sewer. I don't even wanna talk about it." I shook my head at how far off track Dean had just gone.

"So Sandover's helping the bottom line-"

"By zapping some model employees." Dean said finishing Sam's statement.

"Okay, you guys really have to stop doing that." I muttered glancing between the two as Dean walked away from the computer and leaned against the back of his couch. "So like Ian and Paul. It was like he turned them into different people."

"Perfect worker bees, exactly. So devoted to the company that they would commit hara-kiri if they failed it."

"One more interesting fact. The building wasn't always that high. Used to be 14 floors. And the room where the ghost attacked, 1444? Once upon a time, that was the old man's office."

"Okay, so we've got a ghost. Sam check the video what does it say next," I spoke up after a long silence. Sam switched browser windows so we were back on the Ghostfacers' page.

"_Once you've got that thing in your sights-_" guy 2 said, before both pointed to the camera and said, "_You kill it!_"

"_Using special ghost hunting equipment,_" guy 2 said turning to grab something.

"_First, salt_," beard man said holding up a bottle of salt. "_It's like acid to ghosts._"

"_Burning acid._"

"_Not LSD._" Beard man clarified.

"_No. It's a bad trip for ghosts. Next up: iron._" Guy two said holding up a fire poker.

"That's why the wrench worked," Sam muttered.

"_Pure power in your hand,_" Beard man continued.

"_Dissipates ghosts instantly,_" Guy 2 said swinging the poker.

"_Next little trick. We learnt this from those useless douche bags-_"

"_That we hate._"

"_The Winchesters. But the girl they had with them was one hot babe_."

"_Even covered in blood,_" Guy 2 added. Someone from off screen threw a book at the beard guy before guy 2 pulled out a shotgun. "_Guns._"

"_Shotgun shell. Pack it up with fresh rock salt._"

"_Very affective._"

"_Very affective._" Beard man repeated.

"_Winchesters still suck ass. Their friend is still hot though._"

"_Affirmative major hotness,_" Beard man agreed before something solid was once again thrown in their general direction.

The video feed then just cut of leaving me, Sam, and Dean standing there trying to figure out what we had just heard. So they learned all this from a couple of guys known as the Winchesters. I shook my head before moving away from the guys and towards the couch.

I sat there and stared out of the huge windows in Dean's apartment as both guys rushed around me trying to find everything they needed. I snapped out of my stupor when Dean asked where we were supposed to get a gun.

"Gun store?"

"Isn't there some kind of waiting period?" Dean asked.

"I think so." Sam responded. I shook my head before turning to look at the guys.

"You're really gonna march in there and try and kill a ghost. Doesn't all this seem a little impossible to you?" I was worried about both of them. All three of us turned to the video which had started up again.

"_The aforementioned super-annoying Winchester douche-nozzles also taught us this one other thing._" Beard man started.

"_You have to burn the remains_," Guy 2 clarified as he light up a lighter. "_Okay this next part gets a little gross. Sometimes you might have to dig up the body. Sorry_."

"_It's illegal in some states_," Beard man stated.

"_All states_," guy 2 corrected.

"_Possibly all states_," beard man reiterated.

Sam quickly jumped back onto the Internet to see where Sandover was buried. I was slightly shocked at how quick he jumped onto the task. Dean was leaning slightly over him to get a better look at the screen. Glancing between the two I couldn't help but think they looked a lot like brothers. Huh, that's a weird thing to say.

"Says here that Sandover was cremated." Sam broke the silence.

"What? So what do we do now?" Dean asked.

"_Now if the deceased has been cremated-"_

"_Don't panic!_" Beard guy finished.

"_Don't panic_," guy 2 repeated.

"_You just gotta look for some other reamins,"_ beard man added. The two went on to say what kind of remains: hair, DNA and stuff.

"_Fight well, young lions_," guy 2 said in a tone of finality.

"_Godspeed._" Beard man finished.

Both guys got up and were heading towards the door. I stood there my feet planted on the floor not moving. It was Sam who turned around first in confusion before Dean followed.

"You coming?" Sam asked.

"Are you guys frigging nuts?" I screeched. "You're gonna get yourselves killed!"

"We have to stop this!" Sam retorted.

"Then find someone who knows what in the hell they are doing!"

"You think we don't?" Sam yelled back.

"I know you don't. So you guys are on your own. This isn't who I am. I'm sorry."

Sam shook his head in disappointment before pushing past Dean and out of the apartment. Dean was glancing between us curiously before his eyes locked with mine. I knew he was internally struggling with himself. He then walked back towards me grabbed my by the waist and pulled me to him, planting his soft lips on mine. Somehow it just felt right as I responded, but it ended just as quickly as it had started; eventually he followed after Sam leaving me in the apartment all by myself. I could feel the tears building up in my eyes before a high pitched frequency ripped through my hearing.

At the same time a God awful pain ripped through my abdomen causing me to collapse to the ground just as another man burst into the apartment. He was of average height with dark hair and the most piercing blue eyes I had ever scene. His trench coat swished back and forth as he walked towards me. I tried to get away from the mysterious man but my back hit a wall as he pressed his fingers to my forehead. Just like that the world got darker and the pain suddenly subsided.

"Cas?" I asked looking up at the angel in front of me. "What in the hell was that?"

"My superior sent you and the Winchesters into an alternate reality to prove a point," Cas' deep voice reverberated through the suddenly cold room. I stood up and stared at the angel in confusion.

"Superior?" I asked confused.

"You can call me Zachariah," another voice sounded. I swung around and came face to face with Mr. Adler...or I guess he was an angel.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?" I nearly shouted at the new presence. He went to open his mouth but I stopped him. "That was rhetorical you jackass. You have no right messing with us like that!"

"I would be careful with how you address me. The only reason you are still alive is because you are important to Dean. The moment your usefulness runs out you will be gone."

"You know what. You and you," I said pointing to Zachariah and then Cas, "can shove it up your ass because let me tell you something. Whatever you are trying to prove with all of this. What you're trying to prove to Dean isn't gonna make a goddamn difference! I don't know if you two have met Dean but he doesn't believe in destiny and fate and this whole thing isn't gonna change anything!"

"We'll see about that," Zachariah responded mysteriously before he disappeared.

I swung around so my glare was firmly aimed at Castiel. I put my hands on my hips so I was in a stance that just screamed 'tell me what's going on'. Cas was looking anywhere but where I was. I shook my head before I reached forward holding his face in my hands made him look me straight in the eyes.

"Cas, please. Why is Zachariah doing this?" My voice was so quiet I wondered if he had heard me. Judging by how his face softened I knew he had.

"Dean has to stop the apocalypse."

"He's broken, Cas. He can't even fix himself, so what makes you think he's gonna be able to fix everything else?"

* * *

**Hey everyone! I would like to thank those who left reviews, they always make my day! Now regarding this chapter...No matter how much I twisted and changed it I couldn't bring myself to like this chapter as a whole...bits and pieces yeah but not the whole...PLEASE let me know what you guys think about this chapter, especially this one! **


	21. The Prophet, Chuck

_**Chapter 21 – The Prophet, Chuck**_

I slowly made my way through the selves of comic books, taking in all the different varieties and colors this like store had to offer. I shook my head when my eyes landed on a particularly provocative one. I glanced up towards the front counter where the heavyset guy was sitting there with his comic up, but his eyes were glued to me. I waved slightly at the guy before he quickly diverted his eyes back to his comic book.

I smirked before pulling the EMF meter out of my jacket and turning it on. I tried keeping it out of view but the guy standing in the isle with me gave me a strange look before quickly moving to a different isle. I waved slightly before putting the EMF away and turning back to the front counter just in time to see Sam and Dean walk in all dressed up in their FBI suits. Dean's eyes met mine before he turned to the counter. The guy looked between the brothers skeptically when he started to talk.

"Uh, can I help you?"

"Sure hope so. Agents DeYoung and Shaw. Just need to ask you a few questions," Dean answered flashing his badge at the guy.

"Notice anything strange in the building last couple of days?" Sam asked. I rolled my eyes before moving back to the front of the store and browsed through the comics that were on the shelf. All eyes were on me and I knew why. The outfit I had chosen to wear probably wasn't the best choice. I had on a pair of low riding wash jeans and a tank top that showed a little midriff when I reached up for something on one of the higher shelves. Dean cleared his throat catching the guy's attention behind the counter.

"Like what?" he asked his eyes snapping from me back to the guys.

"Some other tenants reported flickering lights," Dean explained.

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

"What about noises? Any skittering in the walls, kind of like rats?" Sam spoke up again.

I glanced to my right and noticed the kid standing next to me. He couldn't have been any older than 18, between his Watchmen shirt, dark jeans, and nerdy glasses. He gave me a flirtatious look before nodding at me. I scoffed in amusement before shaking my head and turning back to the other conversation.

"And the FBI is investigating a rodent problem?" The guy asked skeptically.

"What about cold spots?" Sam continued. "Feel any sudden drops in temperature?"

"I knew it!" The guy exclaimed a large smile coming across his face. "You guys are LARPing, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" Dean said in a voice that obviously stated he wasn't amused.

"You're fans."

"Fans of what?" Sam responded.

"What is LARPing?" Dean asked.

"Like you don't know! That girl over there must be with you guys then." I scoffed before turning to face the guys wondering how I came up in topic. Between the look I was giving this guy and the ones Dean and Sam were giving him he finally answered. "Live-action role playing. And pretty hard core too. Between the suits and sending the girl in first you guys are the most dedicated I've ever seen."

"Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about," Dean replied after glancing in my direction.

"You're asking questions like the building's haunted. Like those guys from the books. What are they called?" The guy thought for a moment as I neared the desk and came to a stop next to Dean. "_Supernatural. _Two guys and a girl use fake IDs with rock aliases, hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What are their names? Steve, Dirk, and Carry? Uh, Sal, Dane, and Connie?"

Sam gave me and Dean an alarmed look mixed with one of confusion as he answered the guy. "Sam, Dean, and Claire?"

"That's it!" The guys confirmed. I swear my eyes were as wide as saucers at this new bit of information. "Of course Claire didn't come in for a while."

"You're saying this is a book?" Dean asked.

"Books. It was a series. Didn't sell a lot of copies though. Kind of more of an underground cult following." The guy then quickly got up and walked over to a bin that had a bunch of books and stuff in it. "That's the first one, I think," he said before handing it to me.

"_Supernatural,_ By Carver Edlund." I read the front cover before flipping over to the back. "Along a lonely California highway a mysterious woman in white lures men to their deaths." I looked at it confused before Sam spoke up.

"Give me that," he said snatching it up urgently. "We're gonna need all the copies of _Supernatural_ you got."

The guy nodded enthusiastically before disappearing into the back and bringing out a box. He set them on the counter saying that the entire series was in there. After paying a large sum for those books we quickly got out of that store and back to the motel. Both guys were freaked out and I think it had something to do with it. I was thoroughly confused as to what in the hell was going on, but if they were this freaked I had something to worry about.

I grabbed the first book of the series and started reading it. The more and more I read the guiltier I became. This was the beginning. From what happened to Jess to them going on the hunt for John who had disappeared. After I was done with the first I moved onto the next and then the next, until I finally came to the moment I left college with John to meeting the guys. When I read it I felt like the entire memory was replaying in my head.

_"Why are you here?" I asked softly. John Winchester looked down at the ground before he looked back up at me._

_"I promised your dad that I would look after you."_

"This is freaking insane!" Dean spoke up after I snapped my book closed. Dean was sprawled out on his bed reading the _Route 666_ one. "How's this guy know all this stuff?"

"You got me."

"He wrote about Jeremy," I muttered sitting down next to Sam who gave me a sympathetic look. I shook my head trying to keep all the memories from reaching the surface. I knew by the look on Sam's face that he could tell I was struggling with this.

"Everything is in here. I mean everything. From the racist truck to me having sex. I'm full frontal in here dude."

"Thank God I skipped that one," I muttered causing a slight grin to reach Sam's face.

"How come we haven't heard of them before?"

"They were pretty obscure," Sam replied. "I mean almost zero circulation. Started in '05. Publisher put out a couple dozen before going bankrupt. And the last one, _No Rest for the Wicked_...ends with you going to hell."

"Well, I reiterate. Freaking insane. Where's Claire in all this."

"I don't come in until _Blood Lust_. But, I'm mentioned throughout. I don't know how this guy did it but your stories AND mine are both in there."

"Huh, check it out," Dean replied switching topics. "There are actually fans. Not many of them, but still. You read this?"

"Yup."

"For fans, they sure do complain a lot. Listen to this. Simpatico says, 'The demon story line is trite, clichéd, and overall craptastic.' Yeah well, screw you Simpatico, we lived it."

"Yeah, well keep on reading."

"It gets better?" I asked looking at Sam.

"There are Sam Girls and Dean Girls and—what's a slash fan?" Dean asked. I burst into laughter hearing that come out of Dean's mouth. Dean gave me a weird look before turning to Sam for help while I all but rolled on the floor laughing.

"As in...Sam-slash-Dean. Together." A look of realization crossed Dean's face.

"Like 'together' together?"

"Yeah!" I laughed trying to calm myself down.

"They do know we're brothers, right?" Dean asked.

"I highly doubt that matters," I answered giggling after.

"Oh, come on. That—that's just sick," Dean replied. "I'm glad you find this amusing," Dean replied sourly before closing the laptop. "We gotta find this Carver Edlund."

"That might not be so easy."

"Why not?" I asked.

"No tax records, no known address. Looks like Carver Edlund is a pen name."

"Somebody's gotta know who he is."

"The publisher. They'll know. They will have all that kept on file."

* * *

I groaned quietly as we pulled up to the building that housed the publisher. I rolled my eyes not really wanting to go in there, but knew I had to anyways. I sluggishly followed after Sam and Dean until we made it to her office.

"So you published the _Supernatural _books?" Sam asked gazing at the woman standing before us.

"Yup. Yeah. Gosh, these books. You know they never really got the attention they deserved. All anybody wants to read anymore is that romance crap. You know, _Dr. Sexy, M.D_? If people would have just kept reading they would have read about the warped romance both guys find in Claire."

Sam cleared his throat as I stared at the woman in shock. Warped Romance?

"Well, we're hoping that our article can shine a light on an underappreciated series," Sam said before I could open my mouth.

"Yeah. If we got a little bit of good press, then maybe we could start publishing again."

"No!" I nearly shouted at the same time Dean said, "God no!"

"I mean, why would you wanna do that?" Dean quickly recovered for the both of us. "You know, it's such a complete series...what with Dean going to hell and all."

"Oh, my God, that was one of my favorite ones...because Dean was so strong and sad and brave. And poor Claire, having to kill her own sister trying to get to the man she loved. So tragic. And Sam—I mean, the best parts are when the guys cry. You know, like in Heart, when Sam had to kill Madison...losing someone he truly cared for. The raw pain he felt after Claire, the first woman he really loved since Jessica, walked away from him."

I gazed up at Sam in shock. I was the first since Jess? I couldn't take my eyes off Sam as the woman kept going on about emotional moments each guy had. Sam glanced down at me and when our eyes connected I could see it in his eyes. He still cared. I tore my eyes away from Sam before I looked at Dean who clearly looked annoyed at how much this lady knew.

"If only real men were so open and in touch with their feelings," she responded with tears in her eyes.

"Real men?" Dean asked slightly offended.

"Uh—No offense. How often do you cry like that?"

"Well, right now I'm crying on the inside." I brought my hand back so it collided with Dean's stomach.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" She retorted not amused in the slightest.

"Lady, this whole thing is funny."

"How do I know you three are legit, hm?"

"Trust me. You have no idea how legit we are," I responded as the publisher walked behind her desk and sat down.

"Well, I don't want any smart-ass article making fun of my boys."

"No! No, no. Never. We're actually, um, big fans..." Sam responded quickly.

"Hm. You've read the books?"

"Cover to cover." Dean confirmed.

"What's the year and model of the car?"

"1967 Chevy Impala," Dean responded smugly.

"What's May 2nd?

"That's my-" Sam cut himself off. "That's Sam's birthday."

"January 24th is Dean's..."

"Who caused Sam and Claire to split up?" Both guys looked at me.

"A demon. His name was Carter," I replied. The woman seemed impressed before she continued.

"Sam's score on the LSAT?"

"One...seventy-four," Sam stated after thinking about it for a moment.

"Dean's favorite song?"

"It's a tie. Between Zep's "Rambling On" and "Traveling Riverside Blues."

"Where was Claire born?"

"Lynx Creek, Texas," I said quickly. The woman chuckled slightly before leaning forward in her chair

"Okay. Okay. What Do You wanna know?"

"What's Carver Edlund's real name?" Sam asked right off the bat.

"Oh no. No, sorry, I can't do that."

"We just wanna talk to him," Sam responded. "Get the _Supernatural _story in his own words."

"He's very private. Just like Salinger."

"Please. Like I said," Sam responded as he pulled his shirt to the side revealing his tattoo. "We're big fans." Dean rolled his eyes before showing her his tattoo. She turned to me expectantly.

"I don't have one, because, uh, Claire never got one."

"Awesome," the publisher replied. She then stood up suddenly and pulled down her pants and turned her back to us. I turned my head away not wanting to see. "I got one too."

"Wow, you are a fan." Dean responded.

"Heh, wow. Okay. His name's Chuck Shurley. And he's a genius, so don't piss him off." She wrote down the address.

I grabbed the paper when she offered it to us before turning around and walking away. Sam and Dean both thanked her before following after me. I handed the paper to Sam not meeting his gaze before I climbed into the back of the car. Dean gave Sam a confused look before climbing in as well. I heard Sam sigh before getting in and then we were off to this Chuck Shurley's house.

It didn't take long because apparently, everyone was in this town. The comic store, the publisher, hell even Chuck was in town. I gazed up at the house has we climbed out of the Impala. Everything that had happened earlier was still weighing on my mind and that look Sam gave me...I just couldn't shake it. He knew about me and Dean, so he still can't harbor those feelings for me – right?

"You Chuck Shurley?" Dean asked after the door had opened. I hadn't realized we had made it to the door and Dean had knocked.

"The Chuck Shurley who wrote the _Supernatural_ books?" Sam added.

"Maybe. Why?" The guy asked timidly.

"I'm Dean. This is Sam, and that's Claire. The Dean, Sam, and Claire you've been writing about."

The guy nodded his head like this was some kind of joke before promptly shutting the door in our faces. He didn't slam it he just calm closed the door. I had to admit the guy had guts closing the door in not just my face, but Sam and Dean's as well. Poor guy doesn't know what he's got coming. Dean rolled his eyes in an irritated fashion before ringing the doorbell again.

"Look, uh, I appreciate your enthusiasm. Really I do. It's always nice to hear from the fans. But for your own good, I strongly suggest you get a life."

Chuck went to close the door again, but this time Dean's hand slamming against the door held it open. You could tell that he had had enough.

"See here's the thing," Dean started. "We have a life. You've been using it to write your books."

"Now, Wait a minute," Chuck stuttered as Dean pushed his way into the house, with me and Sam behind him. "Now, this isn't funny."

"Damn straight, it's not funny," Dean retorted.

"Look, we just wanna know how you're doing it," Sam said calmly trying to mediate the situation.

"I'm not doing anything!" Chuck threw back.

"Are you a hunter?" Dean asked.

"What? No, I'm a writer!"

"Then how do you know so much about demons and tulpas and changelings?" Dean asked walking closer to the already scared man. He was so desperate to get away from Dean that he fell back onto the couch.

"IS this some kind of _Misery_ thing?" Chuck asked. "Ah it is isn't it? It's a _Misery_ thing."

"It's not a _Misery_ thing. We aren't fans."

"Well, then what do you want?"

"I'm Claire." I said finally speaking up. "This is Sam and that's Dean."

"Claire, Sam and, Dean are fictional characters. I made them up. They're not real!" Chuck responded.

"You wanna see real?" I asked glancing at Dean who took the hint. He reached forward and pulled Chuck off the couch before the four of us made our way outside. Dean stood Chuck in front of the trunk before he opened it, revealing everything the Impala's trunk had to offer, ranging from all our weapons, to the fake IDs to our duffel bags.

"Are those real guns?" Chuck asked his mouth hanging open.

"Yup. And this is real rock salt, these are real fake IDs and this is Claire's bag." Dean said pointing to each and every item.

"Heh. I gotta hand it to you guys. You really are my number one fans." Chuck took another glance in the trunk before slowly backing away. "That's awesome. So there's a—I think I've got some posters in the house."

"Chuck, stop!" Dean demanded forcefully.

"Wait. Please, don't hurt me," Chuck begged.

"How much do you know?" I asked.

"Do you know about the angels?" Sam added. "Or Lilith breaking the seals?"

"Wait a minute, how do you know about that?" Chuck asked confused looking between the three of us.

"The question is how do you?" Dean asked jumping into the conversation.

"Because I wrote it," Chuck replied like it was common knowledge.

"You kept writing?"

"Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt. But those books never came out." It was quiet before Chuck started chuckling. "Okay. Wait. Heh, heh, heh. This is some kind of joke right? Did that-? Did Phil put you up to this?"

"Well, nice to meet you," Dean replied sarcastically. "I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam and our friend, Claire Williams."

That's when it hit Chuck. "Last names were never in the books. I never told anyone about that. I never even wrote that down."

Chuck let out a squeak before retreating back to his house leaving the front door hanging open. Reluctantly I followed after the guys and into the house. Once inside I finally took a good look around. The place was a pigsty. Between papers scattered everywhere, clothes thrown over various things, and the food cartons lying around it was hard to believe anyone could actually survive in here. I took in all the bottles of alcohol and instantly thought about Bobby's house after Dean was killed.

"Oh! Oh, you're still there," Chuck realized after taking a large gulp of some unknown alcohol.

"Yup," I confirmed.

"You're not a hallucination."

"Nope."

"Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god."

"You're not a god," Sam retorted causing me to scoff.

"How else do you explain it? I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through. The physical beatings alone."

"We're still in one piece," Dean responded.

"For the most part," I muttered. Sam gave me a curious look before Chuck continued.

"I killed your father," Chuck said looking at Dean. "And I killed your sister," he looked straight at me. "I burned both your mothers alive. You had to go through that whole horrific deal again with Jessica...and you with Jeremy."

"Chuck," Sam said an admonitory tone.

"All for what? All for the sake of literary symmetry!" Chuck turned around so his back was to us before continuing. "I toyed with your lives, your emotions, for entertainment."

"You didn't toy with us, okay, Chuck? You didn't create us!" Dean said finally having enough.

"Did you really have to live through the bugs?"

"I didn't! Thank God," I replied before closing my mouth catching the look on the guys' faces.

"What about the ghost ship?"

"Yes, that too," Dean answered annoyed.

"I am so sorry. I mean, the horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing. If I'd known it was real, I would have done another pass."

"Chuck, you're not a god!" Dean responded exasperatedly.

"You're probably just psychic," I added in a more gentle tone.

"No," Chuck said quickly shooting down the idea. "If I were psychic, you think I'd be writing? Writing is hard."

"It seems that somehow you're just focused on our lives," Sam spoke up looking a Chuck.

"Yeah, like laser focused." Dean started. "Are you working on anything right now?"

"Holy crap."

"What?"

"The uh, latest book. It's uh—it's kinda weird."

"How weird?" I asked glancing between the papers in Chuck's hand and his face.

"It's very Vonnegut."

"_Slaughterhouse-Five_ Vonnegut or _Cat's Cradle_ Vonnegut?" Dean asked seriously leaning against Chuck's desk.

"What?" Sam asked confused.

"What?" Dean replied innocently.

"It's, uh, Kilgore Trout Vonnegut," Chuck broke through the silence. "I wrote myself into it. I wrote myself...at my house...confronted by my characters."

"Okay, Chuck, whatever writing you have done so far, we're gonna need it. We'll take whatever we can to figure this stuff out," I said breaking the dramatic silence that followed Chuck's statement.

"Uh, sure. This is all I have," Chuck responded handing me several papers.

"As soon as we know something we'll let you know. Here's my number, so call if you have any more visions, okay?"

* * *

"I'm in a Laundromat, reading about myself in a Laundromat reading about myself. My head hurts," Dean finally stopped.

"There's something this guy's not telling us," Sam concluded as he pulled some more of his dirty clothes out of his bag.

"_Sam tossed his gigantic darks into the machine. He was starting to have doubts about Chuck, whether he was telling the whole truth_."

"Stop it!"

"_'Stop it,' Sam said_." I chuckled at the display of annoyance from Sam. "Guess what you do next? _Sam turned his back on Dean, his face brooding and pensive._ I don't know how but this guy is doing it."

I opened the washer that held all my clothes in it before pulling them out and quickly throwing them into the dryer which was a few down from the washer.

"I can't see your face but those are definitely your brooding and pensive shoulders. You just thought I was a dick."

"Guys good." Sam replied turning around. I let out a short chuckle before Dean spoke up again.

"As Claire loaded her petite clothes into the dryer she giggled at the sight of Dean reading about reading what Sam was doing."

I turned around annoyed now that Dean was doing it to me and not Sam.

"_Claire turned her back on Dean, as an exasperated look crossed her face learning that Dean was now reading about her instead of Sam_." _What a dick_. "You just thought I was a dick," Dean responded sounding a little dejected.

"Chuck's good," I said looking at Sam. Dean threw the papers down on the tables next to him. The three of us had been quiet as different scenarios ran through our heads. The night passed calmly as I lied down and fell right to sleep not even hearing Dean lay down next to me on the bed. The morning came all too quick as I got up due to the sun blaring down at me through the curtains. I pushed Dean slightly willing him to wake up before the sound of my phone ringing broke through the atmosphere. It was a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?"

"Claire, its Chuck."

"Hey Chuck, is everything okay?"

"No, it's not. You guys really have to hear this."

I quickly got the guys into gear after hearing Chuck's worried tone over the phone. Both Sam and Dean were anxious to hear what had happened while I was dreading it. Something, in the pit of my stomach, was telling me this wasn't gonna be good. So here we stood, in Chuck's living room while Chuck paced sporadically.

"So you wrote another chapter?" Sam asked finally breaking the silence.

"This was all so much easier before you were real," Chuck answered. I leaned against Dean as I waited to hear what really was going on.

"We can take it. Just spit it out," Dean replied tiredly.

"You especially are not gonna like this."

"I didn't like hell."

"It's Lilith," Chuck finally said. My head snapped up so fast it was a miracle I didn't hurt my neck.

"She's coming for Sam."

"Why?" I asked pulling away from Dean.

"When?" Sam asked right after me.

"Tonight."

"She's just gonna show up? Here?"

"_Lilith patted the bed seductively. Unable to deny his desire, Sam succumbed...and they sank into the throes of fiery demonic passion._"

Sam laughed, "You're kidding me, right?"

"You think this is funny?" I asked skeptically.

"You don't? I mean, come one. _'Fiery demonic passion?'_"

"It's just a first draft. It's not-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Lilith is a little girl," Dean pointed out.

"No. This time, she's a 'comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana.'"

"Great. Perfect. So what happens after the fiery demonic whatever?"

"I don't know. It hasn't come to me yet," Chuck responded shamefully.

"Dean, look, there's nothing to worry about. Lilith and me? In bed?"

"How does this whole psychic thing work?" Dean asked not believing Sam.

"You mean my process?"

"Yes, Chuck your process," I said before Dean could retort. "How does it work?"

"Well, it usually starts with headaches. A really bad headache. Aspirin is useless, so I drink until I fall asleep. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a crazy dream."

"First time you dreamt about us?" Dean asked.

"It flowed. It just—it kept flowing. It still does. I can't stop it, really."

"You can't seriously believe-"

"Humor me," Dean responded dryly cutting Sam off.

"Let's think about this, guys," I said softly. I reached down and grabbed the papers Chuck was holding up before handing them to Dean. "We just need to look through this and go from there, okay?"

"How-?"

"I knew you were gonna ask for it," Chuck told Dean. Dean nodded before looking through the chapter Chuck had written.

It was almost an unconscious decision to leave at that moment. Sam in a huff, turned and stormed out of the house, not believing that Dean and I were trusting Chuck over him. I rolled my eyes before looking at Dean who had done the same thing before following after his brother. I moved forward to follow but Chuck appeared in front of me stopping my movements.

"There's something you might want to see," Chuck said quietly handing me some more papers. "I didn't add it into the chapter because…well I wasn't sure if you wanted them to know." He then nodded at me before moving away.

I clutched the papers in my hands before nodding back to Chuck and walked out of the house and to the Impala where Sam and Dean's argument was in full swing. I tuned them out while I read through the papers that Chuck had written. My eyes flew over the letters faster than I thought possible as the words became harder and harder to read.

_Claire moved silently through the room, her movements stiff as she went through the plan in her head over and over again. She glanced back at the unsuspecting Winchester, taking in the moment. Dean lay there with the sheet covering him from the waist down leaving his back bare for Claire to gaze upon. Her sorrowful gaze stayed on Dean until she finally moved out of the motel room and into the cool night's air. Her fingers wrapped around her cell phone as she made the first steps that would ultimately lead to her doom. The treacherous sensation that arose in her gut at the thought of going behind the backs of Sam and Dean kept getting worse – until she finally came to a stop at the crossroads._

_Her delicate fingers wrapped around the rusted tin box that contained the herbs that would surely prove to be the end of her. Her hesitation was visible as she contemplated about what this would do to both Dean and Sam. The feeling in her gut only increased as she dug her fingers into the dry dirt, almost getting the feeling like she was digging her grave. The feeling only intensified as she dropped the box into the hole before covering it up._

_Her conscience no longer existed. The crunching of gravel alerted her to the ever horrible presence behind her._

"_What do _you_ want?"_

"_I wanna make a deal," Claire confirmed turning around to face her. "You sure got back into your meat-suit quickly."_

"_What can I say? I'm attached." Lilith answered maliciously. "And I'm not in a deal making kind of mood after those dope heads set an archangel on me. Try again some other time princess."_

"_Even if I offer you my soul right now, no strings attached?" Lilith stopped, contemplation was not needed._

"_What is it that you want exactly?"_

"_My grace, and the promise that you will not harm either Winchester – and my soul is yours to take."_

_Lilith smirked a malevolent smirk, before producing a small vial that shone brightly. Claire sucked in a large breath of air as she gazed upon the missing piece of her soul. This was it._

I tore my eyes away from the paper, not wanting to read anymore of it. I glanced up to see that we were still driving and both Winchesters were arguing with one another. I couldn't find the energy to focus and a dull throbbing began to surface on my stomach near the symbols.

That can't honestly happen like that. I wouldn't just have sex with Dean then up and leave him to go make a deal with Lilith. That's just not possible. I mean, I understand why I would make the deal, but not like that. Both mean too much to me to just up and do that to them. How could I deny it when everything Chuck writes seems to come true?

"Dude, we are a long way from ready for a face-to-face death match with Lilith," Dean's voice penetrated my thoughts.

They were talking about what Chuck had written about them as well. I glanced out the front window noticing that we were making a run for it. I couldn't blame Dean for wanting to put as much space between this place, Lilith, and us as possible. He was right. We weren't ready to go head-to-head with Lilith even on our best day. Of course things never go according to plan. There was a road block up causing Dean to bring the Impala to a stop as an officer came up to the window.

"What seems to be the problem?" Dean questioned the officer.

"Bridge is out ahead," the officer answered curtly.

"We're just trying to get out of town."

"Yeah, afraid not," he replied glancing over at Sam then back at me.

"Is there a detour?" I asked hoping there was.

"Nope." That was the simple answer I got.

"There's no side road to the highway?" Dean asked slightly losing his patience.

"To get to the highway, you have to cross that river. To cross the river, you have to take that bridge."

"How deep's the river?"

"Sorry. Afraid you three have to spend the night in town."

The officer moved away from the Impala while Dean turned her around and headed back into town.

"Lilith is supposed to come tonight isn't she?" I asked quietly as an uncomfortable atmosphere settled in the car.

"Yeah," Sam responded simply as a sour looked crossed Dean's face. The car fell silent as we pulled back into town and into a diner parking lot.

"You okay?" Dean's voice broke through my thoughts. I hadn't realized that I had gotten out of the Impala and was just standing there while Sam entered the restaurant.

"Uh…Yeah…Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Dean asked as he stared at me a suspicious look on his face.

"This whole thing with Chuck has me a little worried I guess. With Lilith being so close and everything. We're not ready for this, Dean."

"You don't have to tell me that," Dean responded. "Let's go eat."

I followed him into the small diner, before we spotted Sam sitting there with a menu in his hands. I sat down nearest the wall, while Dean sat opposite of Sam and on my right side. The table was silent as we each looked through our menus or in Sam's case the chapter Chuck had pounded out the night before.

"This could be good," Dean said suddenly. "If this puts us on the path to Lilith, then all we gotta do is get off the path."

"How do you mean?" Sam asked.

"It's a blueprint of what not to do. I mean, if the pages say we go left-"

"Then we go right." Sam finished.

"Exactly. We get off the book, then we never make it to the end. Its opposite day. It says that we get into a fight, so no fighting. No research for you," Dean said pointing to Sam. "And no going off on your own," he said looking at me.

"And no bacon cheeseburger for you," Sam retorted. I watched in amusement as an uneasy look crossed his face before disappearing.

"No problem. I'll just order something else." Just then the waitress came over to take our order. "Hi, what's good?"

"Well, if you like burgers…Oprah's girlfriend said we have the best bacon cheeseburgers in the country."

"I'll just have the Cobb salad, please," Sam ordered and slightly laughing.

"I'll have the turkey sandwich with a salad, please." She wrote down my and Sam's orders before turning to Dean who was still looking over the menu.

"I'll have the veggie tofu burger," Dean finally said looking like he was gonna gag. He then looked up at me and Sam giving us pointed looks before handing the waitress the menus.

"This whole thing is ridiculous," Sam protested as the waitress walked away.

"Lilith is ridiculous?" Dean snapped back.

"The idea of me hooking up with her is."

"Right, because something like that could never happen." I rolled my eyes at Dean's accusations before my eyes found themselves on the table. I'm hoping that it would end right there because if it didn't this would be classified as a fight and would go against everything Dean had just said.

"Dean, for the first time, we have warning that Lilith is close," Sam continued.

"So?"

"So…we've got the jump on her. If we know when she's coming, we know where—This is an opportunity."

"Are you-"

"Dean!" I hissed cutting him off before he could go any farther. I glared at him before he continued as calmly as he possibly could.

"It frustrates me when you say such reckless things."

"Well, it frustrates me when you'd rather hide than fight," Sam retorted. Both Winchesters set at glaring at each other while I sat there awkwardly in the middle.

"This is ridiculous," I snapped glancing between the brothers before both straightened up and our foods were set in front of us. I immediately bit into my sandwich as my stomach growled. Sam rearranged the salad on his plate for a moment. I rolled my eyes as Dean spoke up once more.

"It's not hiding, it's being smart. It's picking your battles. This is a battle that we are not ready to fight." Thankfully Sam kept his mouth shut while Dean bit into his veggie tofu burger. "Oh my god! This is delicious. Tofu is amazing."

Now those were the last words I ever thought would come out of Dean's mouth in regards to a veggie tofu burger. Suddenly the waitress appeared at our table apologizing profusely saying she had accidently given Dean the bacon cheeseburger instead of the tofu one. Dean's eyes widened as he realized what just happened. Avoiding Chuck's timeline was gonna be a lot tougher than it originally sounded.

Dean by that point had lost his appetite and was begging me and Sam to hurry up so we could leave. I quickly finished up my sandwich as Dean paid for the meal and we were out of the diner and back on the road looking for a motel to stay at. Finally we came across the Toreador Motel. The red neon sign and the hookers walking around outside the motel set off bad vibes through my very core, but I ignored them.

"Dude this place charges by the hour," Sam said as Dean came back with keys to a room.

"Yeah, well the book says that Lilith finds you at the Red Motel. Hence, the Hooker Inn. It's opposite day, remember?"

I grabbed my duffel out of the trunk and followed the guys into the motel room. I threw my bag down on the bed next to Dean's as he frantically searched through his bag before produces several little bags. He began setting them at the corners of the room and a few other spots.

"Dean, what are those?" I asked as he moved around the room.

"Couple of hex bags ought to Lilith-proof the room."

"So what I'm supposed to hole up here all night?" Sam complained looking at Dean.

"That's exactly what you're gonna do, okay? Claire's gonna stay here too. No research."

"What? Why do I have to stay here?" I complained.

"Because the book says, you wander off on your own and get into trouble. If you stay here, we hit two birds with one stone. Now I don't care what you two do. Use the Magic Fingers or watch _Casa Erotica_ on pay-per-view."

"Oh, dude, come on!" Sam whined as Dean grabbed his laptop.

"Just call it a little insurance."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Well the pages say I spend the day riding around in the Impala, so I'm gonna go park her."

"That should be interesting," I muttered scornfully as I sat down on the bed.

"Behave yourselves, would ya? And no homework. Watch some porn." A smirk graced his face before he left the room.

"There are days where I just wanna hit him," I said looking up at Sam.

"You and me both," Sam responded before pulling out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling Chuck."

"Sam, Dean said-"

"We're not leaving. He's coming to us."

* * *

**I was extremely depressed when I realized there wasn't going to be a new Supernatural for tonight, Friday the 13th...But then I realized Smallville was ending and got even more depressed! Hmm. Anyways due to the severe lack of Supernatural tonight in the U.S. I decided to update! Whoo. Anyways I would like to thatnk the people that reviewed last chapter and added me to their alerts! Thanks so much it made my day when I got those emails! Oh and if anyone here is interested in the Vampire Diaries, I just posted a new VD story so I would love some feedback on that! THANKS AGAIN!**


	22. It's Up To You

_**Chapter 22 – It's Up To You**_

About 20 minutes of awkward silence later, a knocking sounded at the motel room door. Sam quickly got up and answered it and found Chuck standing awkwardly on the other side.

"You wanted to see me?" Chuck asked shaking slightly.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming." Sam moved over so Chuck could enter the room.

"Uh…I was just wondering how much you know. About me."

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked glancing over at me.

"Have you seen visions of me? When I'm not with Dean?"

"Oh. You wanna know if I know about the demon blood."

"You didn't tell, Dean?"

"I didn't even write it into the books," Chuck answered shaking his head. "I was afraid it would make you look unsympathetic."

"Unsympathetic?" Sam asked angrily.

"Yeah, come on, Sam. I mean, sucking blood? Pulling Claire into it and making her promise to hide your secret. You gotta know that's wrong."

I sat on the bed, squishing myself up against the wall it was laid against. Laying my head on the wall I waited patiently to hear what Sam had to say about everything. I would just love to know what was going through that incredibly thick head of his.

"It scares the hell out of me. I—I mean, I feel it inside of me. I wish to God I could stop," Sam confessed as he sat down.

"But you keep going back."

"Wait. You're still doing it?" I asked standing up.

"What choice have I got?" Sam asked responding to both of us. "If it helps me kill Lilith, stop the Apocalypse-?"

"I thought that was Dean's job," Chuck cut Sam off. "That's what the angels say, right?"

"Yes, Chuck. That's exactly what the angels say," my glare fixed on Sam as I answered.

"Dean's not-"

"Be _very_ careful about what you say next, Sam," I snapped defensively.

"He's not Dean lately," Sam sighed. "Ever since he got out of hell, he—He needs help."

"So you think you have to carry the weight? That's what all this is about?" I asked before Chuck could say anything.

"He's looked after me my whole life. I can't return the favor?"

"But at what cost, Sam?" I asked. At some point this had turned into an argument neither of us wanted to have.

"Yeah, sure you can," Chuck responded right after me. "If that's what this is."

"What else would it be?" Sam asked quietly. He couldn't even look at me.

"I don't know. Maybe the demon blood makes you feel stronger. More in control."

"No." Sam responded simply, but something crossed his face, an untrustworthy emotion. "That's not true."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I know it's a terrible burden, feeling that it all rests on your shoulders."

"Does it?" Sam asked. "All rest on my shoulders."

"That seems to be where the story's headed."

"Okay, that's it. Chuck, it's time for you to leave." I walked over to Chuck and grabbed his arm hoisting him out of the chair.

"Am I strong enough to stop Lilith?" I froze hearing Sam ask that.

"I don't know. I haven't seen that far yet," Chuck answered. I jumped back into gear before grabbing a hold of and pushing him towards the door.

"Thanks for coming Chuck, but it's time for you to go." I pushed him out the door before slamming it in his face.

I turned back to the motel room and looked around until my eyes had landed on Sam who was still sitting in the chair looking out the window. He had a devastated look on his face and it just killed me to see him that way. I walked over slowly before I placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"Sam." I whispered before kneeling down so I was in front of him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew this was how you would react."

I nodded dully before standing up and turning away from him. I guess I deserved that. I shook my head slightly before walking towards the bed.

"Don't you ever wonder?" Sam asked vaguely.

"Wonder about what?" I asked glancing back at the younger Winchester.

"What would have happened if we were still together? If you didn't love Dean? Don't you ever think about it?"

"Sometimes," I whispered. "But things just happened. We have to live with it."

"When I see you and Dean together there's this feeling, in my gut," Sam confessed as he stood up and moved closer to me until we were standing there barely a few centimeters apart.

"Sam, don't." I begged, but he didn't listen.

I hesitated when I felt Sam's lips pressed firmly into mine. That wasn't even the worst part of it all. After a moment, my arms had found themselves around Sam's neck and I was responding just as greedily as he was. Sam's arms wrapped around my waist before he lifted me up, my legs wrapping instinctively around him.

My mind was blurry as I felt my back hit the bed. This was all wrong…So wrong but I couldn't stop. Sam's lips never left mine as our tongues battled for dominance, I felt the cold air sweep across my stomach and chest and my shirt was pulled off. In retaliation my fingers set to work on the buttons holding Sam's shirt together, before long his shirt was also discarded on the ground. As Sam's fingers fumbled with the clasp holding my bra together, my mind finally cleared.

"Sam," I whispered breathlessly pulling away. "I can't." The crestfallen look on his face broke my heart. "I'm so sorry, but I can't. I really care about Dean. We had our chance and we blew it."

"Claire-"

"Goodbye, Sam," I whispered as I put on my shirt and walked out of the motel room.

I stood there frozen as the tears flowed down my face. I leaned over and let the tears go before straightening myself out and walked away from the motel. I went behind Dean's back and Sam still had feelings for me that I couldn't return. At that moment he needed someone and I shut him down. I shook my head as I continued to walk not thinking about where I was heading. Before I knew it I was standing on Chuck's front porch banging on the front door.

"Chuck! I know you're in there, damn it, now open the door!" I hit the door one final time before it swung open to reveal a very shaken Chuck and standing behind him was Castiel. "What in the hell are you doing here?" I asked as I moved into the house Chuck closing the door behind me.

"I'm here to make sure no harm comes to the prophet," Cas' deep voice responded.

"I'm sorry. What? Chuck is a prophet? Like Luke and Matthew?"

"Yes."

"Wait, so if he's a prophet then he's writing-"

"The Winchester Gospel."

"Fantastic. That's not what I'm here for. You couldn't have warned me!" I shouted causing Chuck to stumble back and Cas to stand idly by confused.

"About?"

"About Sam! Did you know?" Chuck shook his head. "Did you know Sam still had _feelings_ for me?"

"I may have dreamt about it-"

"Chuck, you are so dead!" I yelled. As I stomped forward the room began to shake as a bright white light shone in through the windows. A searing pain ripped through my head causing me to drop to my knees clutching it.

"WAIT!" Cas' strong voice broke through the piercing screeches in my head. "She means him no harm!"

Just like that the pain, the light, and the earth shaking was all gone leaving me panting on the floor, while Chuck was curled up on the couch shaking like a leaf. Cas was standing next to me before he offered me his hand. I grabbed it as he hoisted me up and back onto my feet.

"You should be more careful with your word choice. Archangels are tied to prophets. Anyone who poses a threat to him will be eradicated."

"You couldn't have warned me before?" I asked looking to the angel only to find he wasn't there. "You're useless, you know that!" I yelled at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry."

"You knew I was coming, didn't you?" I asked looking at Chuck. He nodded before wrapping himself up in a blanket. "They don't know about my soul do they?"

"No. I wrote it in the book but not in much detail."

"If I didn't go to Lilith, how much longer would I have to survive?"

"You wouldn't," Chuck answered truthfully. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but-"

"Whether I sell my soul or not, I don't make it till the end do I?"

"Not with how the story is going."

Both Chuck and I jumped when Dean came barreling into the house. He glanced between me and Chuck confused before walking forward a determined look on his handsome face.

"What are you doing here? I didn't write this," Chuck said quickly.

"Come on. I need you to come with me."

"Dean, where's Sam?" I asked as Dean hauled Chuck up off the couch.

"At the motel."

"That's where Lilith is," Chuck said right after Dean.

"Yeah, I need you to stop her."

"Are you insane? Lilith?" Chuck asked ripping his arm away from Dean. "I know what she's capable of, Dean. I wrote her."

"All right, you listen to me. You have an archangel tethered to you, okay?"

"Yeah, tell us something we don't know," I replied coming to stand next to the two.

"All you gotta do is show up and boom. Lilith gets smoked!"

"But I haven't seen that yet. The story-"

"Chuck you're the only shot I have left," Dean pleaded.

"But…I'm just a writer."

"This isn't a story anymore man! This is real and you're in it!"

"What about Claire."

"Going up against Lilith will tear my soul apart. You know that Chuck," I responded my gaze fixed on Chuck, hoping Dean would ignore what I just said. Judging by the look on Dean's face he understood every word.

"Now, we need you to get up off your ass and fight." Chuck nodded at Dean before moving around him his back to us. "Come on Chuck." He then turned to us a determined look on his face.

"No frigging way," he responded the look falling to one of defeat.

"Okay, well then how about this? I've got a gun in my pocket and if you don't come with me, I'll blow your brains out."

"I'm protected by an archangel," Chuck responded unsure of himself.

"Well, interesting exercise. Let's see who the quicker draw is."

"Chuck, let's just go please," I broke through the silence noting the fear evident on Chuck's face.

Once in the Impala Chuck was shivering with fear as Dean glanced at him a few times annoyed. This was one of those time that I was riding shotgun with Chuck in the back, and Dean driving. With the way he was driving it didn't take long for us to get back to the motel and as soon as we entered the parking lot the atmosphere changed. I could feel her. She was here. We jumped out of the car and Dean grabbed onto Chuck. Quickly kicking open the door Dean pushed Chuck into the room before he and I ducked in after him.

I wasn't surprised to see Lilith there but the position they were in did throw me for a loop. Lilith was straddling Sam holding up Ruby's knife ready to bring it down on him. Dean slammed the door behind us as Chuck went to the center of the room.

"I am the prophet Chuck!" He said holding his hand out at Lilith.

"You've got to be joking," Lilith replied climbing off of Sam, knife still in hand. Right then the room started to shake and the white light poured into the room through the windows. The archangel was coming.

"Oh, this is no joke. You see, Chuck here has an archangel on his shoulder. You got about 10 seconds before this room is full of wrath and you're a piece of charcoal! Sure you wanna tangle with that?" Dean shouted the last part so Lilith would be able to hear him over the noise.

Lilith glanced up at the ceiling as pieces of it came falling to the floor. She glared at Dean before looking back at Sam. Her gaze finally landed on me before she opened her mouth in a scream and the black smoke came pouring out of the woman's mouth. Lilith disappeared through the window as the empty body fell to the floor. Everyone was looking at the body almost like they were expecting it to jump back up. The room stopped shaking and it fell silent.

Dean then turned around and grabbed Sam's bag before telling him to get in the car. We were out of there faster than I anticipated. We dropped Chuck off before Dean hauled ass out of the small town.

"So a deal, huh?" Dean asked after Sam explained what had happened.

"That's what she said."

"To call the whole thing off?" I questioned.

"Angels, seals, Lucifer rising, the whole nine?" Dean added.

"That was the gist of it."

"Heh."

"What?" Sam questioned as he looked at Dean confused.

"You didn't think once about taking it?"

"You kidding me?" The guys stared at each other for a moment before Sam continued. "You just spent the entire day trying to talk me off the Lilith track."

"I'm just saying."

"She would have found some way to weasel out of it," Sam retorted. "And all it would have cost us was our lives."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Dean replied.

"Anyways that's not the point."

"What do you mean?" I finally asked.

"Point is she's scared. I could see it. Lilith is running."

"Running from what?" I asked.

"Don't know. But she was telling the truth about one thing."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"She's not gonna survive the Apocalypse," Sam replied a determined look on his face. "I'll make sure of that."

I could tell that Dean shot a worried look at his brother. I glanced wearily between the Winchesters before leaning back in the seat. The flapping of the tarp in the window was almost soothing as the rain pattered against the roof. It didn't take long before Dean had pulled over finding another motel. I told him I would go get the room and he happily let me. After I got two rooms I handed one key to Dean before keeping one for myself.

"What's that for?" Dean asked looking at the key in my hand suspiciously.

"I think I'm gonna room by myself tonight," I replied dully, before turning away from him and walked down the way before putting my key in the door and walking in. I didn't see that Dean had tossed the key to Sam and followed me to my room. I turned around just in time to see him stop the door and walk in closing it behind him.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Not really," I whispered as I walked towards him. My finger gently grabbed a hold on one of Dean's belt loops on his jeans and slightly pulled him forward. "But I might if you do one thing for me."

"What's that?" He asked his lips only a few centimeters from mine.

"Kiss me." He didn't respond as his lips crashed down onto mine.

Before either one of us could stop, Dean's fingers wrapped around the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head only breaking the heated kiss to do so. His lips then found their way to my neck causing me to moan in response. I reached down and pulled his shirt off revealing a smooth, sculpted chest and torso. I smiled at Dean before his lips captured mine again.

* * *

I moved silently through the room, my movements rigid as I went through the plan in my head over and over again. I glanced back at Dean thinking about what had just transpired between us. Dean lay there with the sheet covering him from the waist down leaving his back bare for me to stare upon. I quietly pulled on my jeans and shirt before grabbing my jacket and putting it on. I glanced back at Dean sadly until I finally moved out of the motel room and into the cool night's air. My fingers wrapped around my cell phone as I made the first steps that would ultimately lead to me losing the last thing I had left. The treacherous sensation that arose in my gut at the thought of going behind the backs of Sam and Dean kept getting worse – until I finally came to a stop at the crossroads.

My pale fingers wrapped around the rusted tin box that contained the herbs that would surely prove to be the end of me. I hesitated as I contemplated about what this would do to both Dean and Sam. The feeling in my gut only increased as I dug my fingers into the dry dirt, almost getting the feeling like I was digging my own grave. The feeling only intensified as I dropped the box into the hole before covering it up.

Then just like that I felt nothing, thought nothing. The crunching of gravel alerted me to the ever horrible presence behind me.

"What do you want?"

"I wanna make a deal," I confirmed turning around to face her. "You sure got back into your meat-suit quickly."

"What can I say? I'm attached," Lilith answered maliciously. "And I'm not in a deal making kind of mood after those dumbasses set an archangel on me. Try again some other time princess."

"Even if I offer you my soul right here, right now, no strings attached?" Lilith stopped, deliberation was not needed.

"What is it that you want exactly?"

"My grace, and the promise that you will not harm either Winchester – and my soul is yours to take."

A malevolent sneer found its way onto Lilith's devastatingly beautiful face, before producing a small vial that shone brightly. I sucked in a large breath of air as she gazed upon the missing piece of her soul. This was it.

"Let's talk," she replied holding her palm out so I got a good look at my grace that was sitting in her hand before she quickly closed her hand the vial disappearing.

"Name your price."

"Your soul and your grace are mine when the final seal breaks." I thought about this for a moment before I nodded my head in agreement.

"As long as in return, you leave both Winchesters alone. You make an attempt to kill them and the deal is off. You try making another deal with them – this one is off. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah sure. Do we have a deal?" Lilith asked a wicked grin spreading across her face.

I nodded numbly as Lilith stepped forward. Before I could register what had happened Lilith's lips were pressed firmly to mine. Her lips embodied what she was – cold and lifeless. Nothing like what Dean's lips felt like only hours before. As Lilith pulled away, I shuddered knowing that any bit of dignity I had left just disappeared when I signed my soul over to her.

I stood there alone as the cool night air started whipping around me. Lilith was no where to be seen. I slowly opened my hand and sitting there in my palm was my grace. I let out a small whimper before falling to my knees in the tough dirt.

* * *

I walked back into the motel room only to come face to face with a very pissed off Dean and a very worried Sam. I glanced between the two before I noticed the papers that were sitting on the table next to Sam. I walked over and glanced down at the papers before I turned to face the brutal onslaught that was sure to come. They had found the things Chuck prophesized.

"What the hell is this?" Dean asked reaching over and holding the papers up for me to see.

"What do they look like, Dean?" I responded derisively. "I think it's pretty self-explanatory."

"What did you do, Claire?" Sam asked softly.

"I made a deal with Lilith," I acknowledged slowly as my gaze fell away from the Winchesters and to the ground.

"How could you do that?" Dean yelled.

"It was the only way to keep her off your backs!" I yelled back at him.

"What in the hell were you thinking! I'll tell you: YOU WEREN'T THINKING! What is the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just be grateful it's my soul she'll get and not yours or Sam's!"

"How long did she give you?" Sam asked quietly breaking through the screaming match.

"Until the final seal breaks," I replied somberly. "With how the angels are doing I don't think that will take very long."

"And all you got in return was for her to leave us alone?" Sam asked calmly, but I could tell that with each passing moment his composure was breaking.

"Not exactly," I muttered reaching into my pocket and producing the vile. "She gave me the rest of my grace." A meaningful look crossed Sam's face as he gazed upon the glowing vile.

"And Chuck knew about this?" Dean yelled throwing the papers back on the table not even taking in what getting my grace back meant.

"It wasn't his fault, Dean! He was just a mouthpiece! He tried stopping me, but it was no use."

"After everything you still went out and sold your soul! Haven't you learned _ANYTHING_?" I glanced over at Sam hoping for some backup but got nothing in return as a hurt look crossed his face.

"Oh, so you can sell your soul and no one questions it?" I yelled at the older Winchester as all my anger poured out.

"You don't get it!"

"Oh really? Tell me what I don't get! Please, Dean, ENLIGHTEN ME!"

"You sold your soul for some stupid PROMISE!"

"A promise that's gonna save your sorry ass!" I retorted angrily. Why didn't he understand that I was doing this for them?

"You don't know that," Sam butted in.

"I can guarantee it, Sam! Especially now, you can focus on killing Lilith instead of being afraid she's gonna kill you!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE NOT HERE!" Dean shouted at me. I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped when what he had just said fully registered in my brain. "You're family and you're _giving_ _up_."

"You don't get it!" I hissed at him as the tears welled up in my eyes. "I'm dying, Dean." My voice broke. "I wasn't gonna last if I hadn't made that deal."

I watched as Dean froze in confusion. He glanced over at Sam who shrugged his shoulders not sure what was going on either. I shook my head in disbelief as I glanced between them. I peeked down at my hands and noticed that they were shaking from the confrontation. I wasn't sure if I wanted to look back at Dean, but I did anyways.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked all the hostility gone from his voice.

"My soul and my grace have been fighting each other. According to Cas, they are fighting for dominance and at the rate they're going, they're gonna tear each other apart."

"That's why you collapsed at Magic Town and-" Sam cut himself off.

"Cas has been able to separate them, but it's only temporary. I have my grace. My _full_ grace. Things are gonna change for the better. Just trust me on that."

Sam just nodded stiffly, while Dean shook his head anger still evident on his face. I didn't know what else to say to them as we stood there awkwardly. The situation only got worse as the flapping of wings echoed through the room. I noticed the guys' eyes were glued to something behind me to I swung around and came face to face with Cas.

"Do you have it?" he asked his deep voice reverberating through my very being. I didn't think twice as I held up my hand showcasing the grace. "Now it's up to you to choose."

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked bewildered. "I have my grace. You said everything would be solved!"

"If your soul and grace cannot exist in the same body now, what makes you think the full power could coexist with your human soul?" Cas gave me a sympathetic look before he glanced up towards the ceiling, almost like he was listening. "I'm sorry it had to be this way," he whispered.

"Cas what are you talking about?" Sam asked not liking where this conversation was heading.

"It's all gonna end with you," he replied looking directly at me. He stalked toward me his hand wrapping around my arm. "Your life decides the outcome of the war."

* * *

**SO i hope I threw you for a loop on that one cause that was my plan! Whoo! Anyways please review it makes my day and thank you to everyone who reads!**


	23. Facing the Past

_**Chapter 23 – Facing the Past**_

"HELP! PLEASE! ANYONE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I pounded relentlessly on the door.

"No one can hear you," an arrogant voice sounded from behind me.

I whipped around quickly and came face to face with Zachariah. I growled angrily before making a step forward. I didn't get very far when he high pitched scream wailed in my head. I clutched my head in pain, glancing up at Zachariah in annoyance. A look of pure amusement came across his face before it quickly fell and was replaced with one of irritation. The sound suddenly stopped as hands wrapped gently around my waist lifted me off the ground.

"This is not what we do," a familiar rumbling came from behind me.

"This is God's will. She has to make a choice. And she will make it now," Zachariah said as he moved closer to me and the person behind me. "Are you trying to defy God, Castiel?"

"Cas?" I grunted as he shoved me behind his body as two more angels appeared. "What's going on?"

"Stay behind me," he muttered softly before turning fully to face the three angels opposite us. "She needs to make the decision on her own; that is what God commands."

"His orders have changed. The nephilim is to make the decision now or we wipe her off the face of the planet," Zachariah stated simply. "You will be joining her if you do not leave now, Castiel."

"This is bordering blasphemy. If she is our only hope then you cannot destroy her."

"You need to learn your place!"

I closed my eyes and threw my hands over my head as a bright white light suddenly ripped through the room knocking me off my feet. I could hear the fighting but I couldn't see anything. Against my better judgment I jumped up and screamed for them to stop. Just like that the white light disappeared leaving me to see what had happened. The warehouse we had been in was nearly destroyed and Cas hung limply between the two angels with Zachariah in front of him.

"You want a choice? Between my human soul and my grace? FINE! Just leave him the hell alone!"

My pleading eyes met Zachariah's as he motioned for the other two to let Cas fall from their tight grip. Cas hit the floor with a thump before struggling to pick himself back up. He glanced up at me as I pulled the small vile out of my pocket holding it up for the other angels to see. I lifted it up above my head before quickly bringing it down, the glass shattering as it hit the ground. The tears stung my eyes as the white silvery smoke wound its way up through the air before forcing its way into my body.

As it made its way into my body, the cold chill of the smoke didn't go unnoticed by me as I let out an ear piercing scream when it finally reached the other half of my grace. I would literally feel the two linking together as it pushed my human soul aside. The pure power I could feel running through my veins wasn't enough to prevent the pain of the grace ripping my human soul apart.

I caught the pained look on Cas' face before everything faded into a white bright light.

* * *

_The first thing the hit me was the strong scent of freshly cut grass. I wasn't sure how that was possible when the last place I had been was in was a warehouse. My eyes immediately snapped open when I heard the rustling of the grass near my head. As my eyes adjusted to the light I was met with the smiling face of John Winchester._

_I scrambled up and turned to face him, I'm guessing the shock was written on my face because he let out a hearty laugh before pulling me into a big bear hug. I could feel the tears making their way down my cheeks as I held onto the elder Winchester as though my life depended on it._

"_I was wondering when you would be making it my way," a familiar and dearly missed voice spoke from behind me. I looked up at John before turning around to face the one person I missed most in the world. I quickly ran towards the other man nearly jumping on him in happiness. "I missed you baby girl."_

"_I missed you so much, Daddy." I pulled back slightly and looked into the handsome face I knew as my father, between the strong jaw line, his dark mahogany hair, and light green eyes it took all I could not to burst into tears again. I noticed movement behind him. I looked back and my eyes fell onto the form a woman, probably not much older than I was. Her golden hair blew slightly in the breeze as her shy blue gaze met my emerald one. That's when I recognized her._

"_Mom?" I asked hesitantly. She nodded vigorously as she opened her arms allowing me to rush into them. _

"_You've grown into such a beautiful young woman," she spoke softly to me. I opened my mouth to say something before the sound of someone clearing their throats stopped me. I looked over and there I was standing only my hair was blonde._

"_Look I know I'm the last person on the planet you wanna see but-" I cut Alex off by wrapping my arms around her petite frame._

_I pulled away from my shell-shocked sister before looking around at the group before me. My mom, my dad, my sister, and my godfather. All standing before me…which meant that I was dead too._

"_You have a choice," my mother spoke up almost like she had read my mind. "It doesn't have to end like this."_

"_You're a fighter. You always have been," my father added as he wrapped an arm around my mother's shoulder. "You can't give up now, baby girl."_

"_You give up now; I would have died for nothing!" Another voice spoke up from behind me. I let out a choked sob as I jogged to the newcomer. My arms wrapped around the best friend I had let die when I went away with John._

"_Aly. I'm so sorry."_

"_It was worth it, beside there's someone else who's been dying to see you again. No pun intended."_

"_I knew you would pick the right guy," a deep voice sounded from behind Alyson. I glanced back at the boy I had loved. Jeremy stood there his arms crossed a sheepish look on his face. I smiled before walking over and hugging him tightly. _

"_I missed you."_

"_Well, Williams, there's a guy back in the land of reality that will miss you if you decide to check out now."_

"_Jer, I can't go back. I can't handle it. I-"_

"_You can't handle it or you don't want to?" I shook my head before glancing back at my family who were staring at us intently. "You have the chance to do something great and you're running away from it. You don't have to be an angel to save the world. You can do so much more as just Claire Rebecka Williams. You get your ass back into that hot body of yours and you show that grace whose boss."_

"_I can't. The grace probably ripped my soul apart, I don't exist there anymore."_

"_You can and you do. Wake up, Claire. Come on wake up!" Jeremy's voice started to morph into a familiar rumbling._

"_Claire!" Dean's voice came out of Jeremy's mouth._

My eyes snapped open and I was left staring at a concerned Dean Winchester. But that's not what caught my attention. There was a bright glowing orb situated right in the middle of Dean's chest. I didn't know what it was, but it looked _heavenly_. Everything was just so…hazy.

"Hey, Claire. Talk to me," Dean said quickly as his large hands were pressed to my cheek and shoulder. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Why did that name sound so wrong? I looked up at Dean and saw the worry and fear in his eyes before I glanced over and saw Sam standing with Cas. Wait…No it wasn't Castiel that was just his vessel. I could not see the angel's presence in the vessel.

"Jimmy Novak?" I asked my tone almost monotone. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I knew I wasn't in control when my body stood up of its own accord.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about this," my mouth moved and my voice sounded, but it was not me. I pulled away from Dean and moved towards Jimmy. I noticed out of the corner of my eye Sam run up to the insignia on the wall and press his bloody hand to it. "NO!"

It was too late. I felt the light go right through me.

* * *

"What in the hell was that!" Dean yelled at Sam as he brought his hand down. Dean looked around frantically for any sign of Claire, but she was no where.

"That wasn't Claire," Sam responded breathily as he walked toward Dean.

"The hell it wasn't!"

"Dean, look." Sam knelt down and picked up a few pieces of shattered glass. "It's not Claire anymore."

"I don't believe that. She wouldn't choose the angels over us, Sam. Think about it, this is Claire we're talking about."

Sam picked up a few of the shards before placing them in Dean's hand. "Looks like she did."

Dean stared down glumly at the shards before closing his hand around them. He glanced up at Sam who nodded and grabbed Jimmy before the two made their way out of the wreckage. Dean glanced around at the debris, before he took some of the shards stuffed them in his pocket before he threw the rest angrily. He shook his head before turning back to where Sam and Jimmy had disappeared through.

"What did you do?" Dean whispered.

* * *

I found myself standing in a field. There was nothing extraordinarily special about this field – it was just an average small meadow. I closed my eyes and listened briefly to the whisperings above me, but my body refused to move. No matter how much my brain screamed at my limbs to move they wouldn't move. I heard the fluttering of wings behind me before I felt her grace.

"Anna," I spoke softly well at least it sounded like me.

"Eloa?" Anna asked astonishment in her voice. "Is that really you?"

"Yes," I responded finally turning to face the angel. "It's been a while, Anna."

"How, is this possible?" This was the first time I had ever seen the angel speechless.

"After centuries, my grace has finally been placed into the proper vessel," Eloa stated monotonously. I listen and watched as a prisoner in my own body. "I see you are no longer a part of Heaven."

"He's gone. Raphael has taken control. They follow Raphael's orders, not God's."

"Then it has begun," Eloa stated wryly before turning away from Anna and out to the empty field. "_And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night._"

"Revelations," Anna stated sadly.

"I knew, the moment I fell there was something amiss. Father had sentenced our brother to hell, and then he left. I knew he would not return. Besides, the Grigori stood for something more. We fell for a reason."

"You fell to guide mankind-"

"No," Eloa snapped. "We all fell for Lucifer. Some fell because of Lucifer's influence. Others fell to make sure Lucifer would remain in his dungeon in hell. And it seems we have failed."

"He's coming?"

"You should leave, Anna. They are coming."

"The said you were born from a tear God had shed. I can understand why they say that. You were born with compassion in your soul. Something most aren't created with."

Eloa stood there silently as one grace left, two more appeared. My lips twitched when I noticed who it was. The breeze of the night air fluttered softly around us as we all stood there motionless and tranquil. I closed my eyes once more as I listened to the array of whispers that flooded my head…well Eloa's head. _So you're the nephilim who will end the world?_ Eloa's voice sounded in my head.

"We were wondering when you would make you appearance, Eloa," Zachariah stated smoothly.

"I am starting to wonder who is running this little travesty of yours, brother – you or Raphael."

"I don't under-"

"Don't make me out as a fool, Zachariah. I know our Father would not leave _you two_ in charge. Tell me, where is He? It's time for order to be restored in Heaven."

Zachariah scoffed as he walked around me so he was standing a few feet from me. I felt my hand slide in my jacket casually before my fingers wrapped around the cold steel of the blade I had hidden in there. I could feel the approaching grace and I swung around quickly taking the blade out of my jacket as I did so and plunged it into the gut of the angel behind me. I twisted the blade as a bright light shone from every open space on the vessel before it disappeared – the angel fell to the ground dead.

"You forget who I was, Zachariah. Think twice before you come after me again," I responded severely before I disappeared from sight.

* * *

My eyes fluttered open to reveal nothing. The room was so dark I couldn't see anything. I snapped up as the light flicked on and a startled noise came from whoever had turned them on. I looked over to see Sam and Dean standing there guns pointed at me, a frightened Jimmy standing behind them.

"Whoa, guys!" I yelled holding my hands up. I stopped for a minute realizing I had full control over my limbs. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"That's Claire," I heard Dean whisper to Sam.

"Are you kidding me? Of course it's me – who else would it be?"

"I don't know, Claire, why don't you tell us? Damn near jumped Jimmy, and the spell to send angels away worked pretty nicely on you. Something you wanna tell us?" Dean snapped a pissed off look on his face.

"No," I lied shaking my head. "I have no idea what's going on."

I put on my best poker face as I tried portraying the feeling that I was terrified, even though I knew exactly what was going on. Sam was the first to put away his gun and walk towards me before wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. I stared at Dean over Sam's shoulders and he stared back, his face void of emotion.

"Sorry to break this up, but I'm really hungry," Jimmy cut in. I glanced over at him and right of the bat I could tell the difference between him and Cas. Not only was his voice higher in pitch, almost to the point where it was weird, but he just oozed trepidation. Sam nodded as an anxious Jimmy sat down and dug into his food almost like he hadn't eaten in a while.

"Slow down. You're gonna give me angina," Dean spoke up after all sat down at the table.

"I'm hungry," Jimmy stated simply before taking another drink of whatever was in his cup.

"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked.

As I sat there I couldn't help but feel like I was misleading them. Here I was acting like nothing was wrong when only hours before I was a freaking angel. Or at least I'm pretty sure I was one. This whole thing was confusing. I took in the grace, yet my body is still in one piece and as far as I could tell my human soul was still there as well.

"I don't know. Months." Jimmy continued to eat while Dean watched on in disgust, Sam in amazement and I was watching on in amusement.

"What the hell happened back there? It looked like an angel battle royale," Sam spoke up looking between me and Jimmy.

"All I remember is a flash of light and I, uh…I woke up and I was just, you know, like, me again."

"So, what? Cas just ditched out of our meat suit?" Dean asked looking at him skeptically.

"I really don't know."

"You don't remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" Sam asked again.

"Yeah, bits and pieces. I mean, angel inside of you it's kinda like being chained to a comet."

"Ah. That's doesn't sound like too much fun," Dean responded.

"Understatement."

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something. Please tell me you remember that," Sam begged.

"Sorry."

"Come on, what do you know?" Dean asked causing Jimmy to stop eating and looking down at the table as a pensive look crossed his face.

"My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. I have a family. I have a wife, Amelia and a daughter, Claire."

I nodded absently before I stood up and walked out of the room. I could hear Sam and Dean's footsteps as they followed me out of the motel room. I could tell it was cold because I could see my breath as I breathed, but I couldn't feel the cold air.

"So what do we do?" I asked as they got outside.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. "The guy's got a family. We buy him a bus ticket, send him home," he snapped.

"I don't know about that." Sam stepped in. "Dean, he's the only lead we got."

"We have Claire, who was there. Besides he doesn't know anything."

"Are you 100 percent about that?"

"You think he's lying? What, you wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?"

I closed my eyes and leaned against the car. My head was starting to pound and these two arguing did not help the situation any. I had whispers in my head, them arguing, not to mention all this angel crap going on – I just needed a breather and it seemed like I was getting less and less time to relax.

"Claire you coming?" Sam asked a curious look on his face.

"Nah, go ahead. I gotta breath for a second."

Sam watched me for a moment before turning back and following after Dean. I calmly stood there before finally I felt good enough to go back in. I stopped though when a familiar voice rose above a whisper to a slight mutter. And I could have sworn it was saying "Help me."

I shook my head and walked back into the room where there was more fighting going on. Jimmy really wanted to go home, but Dean and Sam weren't having any of it. Something about demons wanting to question him. Finally Jimmy gave up arguing and sat down on the bed refusing to speak to anyone.

I walked into the bathroom and stared up at the mirror before looking down and splashing water on my face. When I looked back up I noticed that my reflection was staring back at me curiously almost like it hadn't moved. I went to move back, but my reflection didn't move when I did. I let out a yelp as the reflection gazed at me, almost like it was trying to figure me out.

"Hey you okay in there?" Dean's voice came in through the door. The reflection then moved its finger up to its lips in a 'sh' motion.

"Yeah, sorry just a spider." I answered back not taking my eyes off my reflection which was smirking at me.

"_You have no reason to be afraid_," it spoke.

"I don't know who you are, but I suggest you leave," I hissed softly.

"_I'm a part of you. I'm not going anywhere_," It replied. "_My name is Eloa. I was one of the Grigori. I fell in order to keep Lucifer from rising again._"

"You really expect me to believe that?"

"_You_ have _to trust me. First and foremost you must sever your deal with Lilith_."

"No. No way in hell."

"_I will prevail. She cannot take away a forged grace_."

"Maybe not, but she can go after Sam and Dean and kill them. I refuse to let that happen because I'm the only thing standing between them and Lilith. And I plan to keep it that way," I snapped throwing the towel at the mirror before walking out of the bathroom. I walked past the mirror and saw my reflection standing there arms crossed staring at me.

"_You think you can avoid me but you cannot. You may be able to repress me, but you cannot escape me completely."_

"Are you okay?" Sam asked looking at me then the mirror. I looked at the mirror with him and saw that my reflection had gone back to normal.

"Yeah."

"Dean wants to talk to you. He's outside."

"Awesome," I muttered before leaving Sam and Jimmy in the motel room as I walked out to meet Dean.

He was standing there, leaning against his car. I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment as he stared up into the sky. I could tell by the look on his face that something was bothering him and I wasn't sure if it was me, Sam, or Jimmy. I moved closer as I stuffed my hands in my pockets anxious about what Dean could have wanted.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" I asked as I got closer.

"Found out we had a brother. A half-brother named Adam."

"Had?" I asked cautiously.

"Couple of ghouls got the best of him."

"I'm sorry," I responded softly as I reached out to touch his arm only to have him pull away.

"You gonna tell me what in the hell happened at that warehouse?"

"Wha-"

"Don't play stupid," Dean snapped as he pulled something out of his pocket. He forcefully grabbed my hand before pressing something sharp to my palm. I snapped my arm away from him and look down to see what he had placed in my hand. I closed my eyes in realization at the glass shard that lay delicately in my hand. I glanced back up and knew that Dean had seen the look on my face.

"They were gonna kill him, Dean. I had to make a choice and it seemed logical at the time."

"Who in the hell are you anymore?" Dean asked solemnly as I tried to explain myself.

I scoffed, "Wow, Dean, low blow."

"One minute things are okay, for once and then the next you're off selling your soul to Lilith and _now_ you're all charged out on angel juice!"

"You _STARTED_ all of _THIS_!" I yelled at him. I knew I was going down a dangerous road, but he was yelling at me about my choices when his started it all. "Your stupid heroic effort to save me and Sam landed you in hell where you broke the first seal! So don't you _DARE_ blame me for anything I have done because it was all to save _YOU_!"

By the hurt look on his face I could tell that I had hit the spot. That gaping hole that was already in his chest – I'm pretty sure I had just made it bigger. Dean gazed at me for a moment before he shook his head almost like he couldn't believe I had just said that. I put my hands on my hips as I stared long and hard at Dean before he took off back towards the motel room.

"Dean!" I called out but he didn't respond before he slammed the motel room door shut. I let out a shriek of frustration before hitting the front tire of the Impala with my foot.

I moved past Dean's car before moving past it and out towards the main road. I took another long look at the motel room door before I pushed my body forward and out onto the abandoned highway. After a few slow steps, my pace started getting faster and faster until all that could be heard was the pounding of my shoes against the dark pavement as I ran with all my might.

As I ran, with each echoing hit another thought crossed my mind. _Angels. Nephilim. Dean. Apocalypse. Eloa. Lucifer. Sam. Alexandra. Cas. Dean. Dean. Dean._

I came to a sudden stop. I placed my hands on my knees as my lungs struggled to take in oxygen. As I stood there breathing heavily I could feel the salty tears gather at the corners of my eyes, before that one brave tear fell. I let myself drop to the ground as the flood gates opened and everything that I had been holding in came pouring out.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Dean and I weren't supposed to fall apart like this and Sam wasn't supposed to harbor anymore feelings for me. I wasn't supposed to give in to the angels or Lilith. I wasn't supposed to _stab_ my sister in the back. I wasn't supposed to be the deciding factor in the war against Lucifer. I just wanted to be the girl living her dreams and going to college and med school, maybe having a few kids. Instead, I'm here wrapped up in this mess.

I didn't want to be an angel. I didn't want to be a hunter. I didn't want Dean to go to hell. I didn't mean to hurt Sam in the ways that I did. I didn't mean to give into Lilith. I didn't mean to kill my sister or my father or my mother. I didn't mean to kill my best friend or my boyfriend. I didn't mean to hurt Dean.

After all the tears had dried up I was still sitting there along the side of the road in the middle of the night. I finally felt the stinging sensation in palm before I saw the blood drip from my hand onto the ground. I slowly opened my hand and hissed in pain as the small blood covered piece of glass revealed itself. I pulled the glass out of my hand before glaring at the piece. This little shard embodied everything that had gone wrong.

My thoughts were interrupted when Sam's ringtone sounded from my pocket. Without breaking eye contact with the piece of glass, I pulled the phone out of my pocket before I tossed it to the ground next to me. After a minute the world around me had fallen silent once more. The peace was shattered when Sam's ringtone sounded again. This time I glanced down at the phone and saw Sam's contact picture. It had been taken a while ago because he and I were laughing and staring at each other with this love struck look on our faces. The picture I meant to delete forever ago.

I stared at it until my screen changed to '2 missed calls.' I stared at my phone for a minute longer as the screen lit up once more only this time it displayed Dean's name and picture. Dean was leaning over his car with the hood open a large goofy grin on his face. I moved over and hit the ignore button.

"_It doesn't have to be this way._" A familiar voice whispered.

"Really? Because from my point of view this is it. No changing it."

"_If you stop resisting me, then we can work together. You remain in control of your body, but you can use the full power of the angels. No one will be able to tell you what to do._"

"What's the catch?"

"_You must help me restore order to heaven__. What is happening should not have come to pass, but it has. I want to stop the apocalypse just as much as the next person._"

"Some how I just don't believe that."

"_How about a trial run?_"

Before I could protest a weird feeling came over me before the scenery suddenly changed.

* * *

**Hey everyone! I know its been a while but I hope you guys like this! Oh and the one part where Eloa is talking to Anna is an actual passage from Revelations in the King James Version! Please review especially with this chapter because I took a big risk on adding the character so please let me know!**


	24. I Serve Heaven

_**Chapter 24 – I Serve Heaven**_

I kept my eyes closed when I felt the world around me finally stop spinning. I opened them only to find that I had somehow ended up on a bus, sitting next to Jimmy. WAIT. Jimmy? My gaze landed firmly on the man in question when he finally turned to me jumping in surprise.

"Are you alone?" Jimmy asked in hushed tones glancing around the nearly empty bus.

"If you mean am I with Sam and Dean, then no. But I wouldn't quite say I'm alone." I replied causing Jimmy to give me a confused look. "I've been having some split personality issues lately."

"Look if you're gonna take me back-"

"I'm not going to." I looked away from Jimmy setting my gaze on the quickly passing scenery.

"Why not?"

"Because if it was me sitting where you are – I would want to see my family too. So I'm not gonna stop you. Think of me as your bodyguard for this little expedition."

Jimmy nodded excepting the fact that I wasn't going anywhere. He then turned back to the window and gazed out. I watched the poor guy for a moment and decided we were pretty much in the same boat: neither of us wanted to be here, like this.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked walking along side Jimmy.

"You said you would help me," Jimmy replied absently as he gazed up at one of those perfect little houses you see on TV, like in the suburbs and stuff.

"Correction, I said I would help keep you alive so you could see your family then take you back to Sam and Dean. I never said I'd help you help you."

We walked the final distance to the house until we ended up on the porch. Jimmy gazed in through the window and there was a beautiful, young girl about 13 years old sitting at the kitchen table doing what looked like home work. She then turned around and started talking before another woman walked into the room. The young girl was almost a spitting image of her mother.

"She's beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes, she is." Jimmy responded vaguely. "The last time, before I left, she tried making me take anti-psychotic pills."

"Jimmy, I'm so sorry. She just reacted the only way she knew how."

"When Castiel took over, he told Claire that he wasn't her father. She didn't know it was him saying it. She must hate me."

"You are her father, Jimmy. And just for that she'll love you and forgive you the minute you walk through that door." He turned around, but stopped when I called his name. "Jimmy. You do know this could be putting your family in danger."

Jimmy nodded absently before moving towards the door. I slowly backed away knowing that I was involved enough already. I made it back down to the street as his wife opened the door and ushered him in. I let out a sigh of relief that she didn't just shut the door in his face. I glanced around the neighborhood realizing it must look weird for me to be standing here.

"_They can't see you._"

"Is that like an angel perk?" I asked curiously glancing back up at the house Jimmy was in.

"_Yes_."

I rolled my eyes at the short answer. Of course, she was an angel she wasn't gonna tell me anymore than she needed to. Besides she needs me to help her in a war against heaven, she can't keep me informed of anything if she wants to control me. _A war against heaven_. That just sounded wrong, it should be the war against Lucifer or hell. Not the war against Heaven.

I hadn't realized I had been walking this whole time. I really need to work on being aware of my surroundings when I get lost in my thoughts. My head snapped back in the direction of Jimmy's house as a weird feeling went through me. It felt like evil.

"Demons," I whispered as I sprinted back towards Jimmy's. "Eloa you could chime in anytime and zap me there!"

When I didn't get a response, I pushed myself a little harder trying to get there faster. As soon as I got within a yard of the house my legs suddenly stopped working. I tried to move forward but my legs weren't responding.

"Eloa, what are you doing?" I whispered.

"_Keeping you safe_."

"I need to get to Jimmy!"

"_It's too late. The Winchesters have already taken care of the problem._"

"Then what are we still doing here? WE need to get back with them."

"_We have involved ourselves in this enough. We need to separate-_"

"Separate my ass," I muttered concentrating on Dean and Sam.

I felt the weird sensation rise in my gut again as the world around me changed once more. I found myself seated in the back on the impala breathing heavily almost like I had run a marathon not moments before at full sprint. I glanced between the Winchesters a little confused when neither noticed my arrival.

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean asked Sam.

"What?"

"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon." My head snapped in Sam's direction hearing this.

"Okay, I didn't faint. I got a little dizzy."

"You can call it whatever you want. The point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill a stunt-demon number three?"

"What do you want me to say about it?" Sam asked.

"Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean it's yo-yoing all over the place. I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? You're just scaring me, man," Dean finished.

"I'm scaring myself."

"Guys," I spoke up causing Dean to jump, but thankfully he kept the care under control so he didn't swerve.

Sam's gaze snapped to the backseat where I was sitting as Dean glanced behind as well before his eyes found the road again only looking back at me briefly through the rear-view mirror. I looked between the surprised Sam and the irritated Dean.

"Where have you been?" Sam asked voicing his concern. Dean didn't say anything, but he did have a betrayed look on his face. "How the hell did you even get in here?"

"I have to tell you something. I'm-" My answer was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Sam answered it before reaching back and waking up Jimmy telling him it was his wife.

"Amelia?" Jimmy asked tiredly, only briefly glancing over at me and nodding in acknowledgment. I watched Jimmy's face carefully as he went from tired to awake and a fearful expression on his face. "Oh my god."

"Jimmy?" I asked cautiously as the phone dropped from his ear.

"They have Claire and Amelia."

"Where?" Dean asked. I closed my eyes as Dean asked then Jimmy answered his question. I focused on getting us all there.

Suddenly it felt like someone had punched me in the chest. The air was knocked out of me and I hit what felt like the pavement. I heard my name being called, but it sounded really far away. I opened my eyes to find Dean standing over me a frightened look on is face. My hand went to my head when the pounding started. Eloa was angry.

"Claire?" Dean's voice finally sounded right and clear.

"What just happened?" I asked as he helped me stand up.

"You just-" Dean cut himself off when I looked up at the old warehouse. I had gotten us all here. I went to walk forward, but my body felt drained of energy so I just fell forward. Thankfully Dean caught me before I face planted into the pavement.

"What happened to you?" Dean whispered so only I would hear it. Sam and Jimmy were standing by the car giving us space.

"That's a good question," I replied. "Dean you have to go help them. Now."

"Alright," Dean helped me over to the impala before addressing Jimmy. "They're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do."

"We'll work our way through the catwalks," Sam finished for Dean. "We'll be right behind you."

"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job."

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about!" Jimmy snapped.

"Listen man, this will work. You understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt," Deana answered.

"Just give me a minute," Jimmy said before stalking over towards the warehouse.

I looked between the Winchesters as they watched Jimmy disappear from sight. I could feel the agitation Eloa was feeling at the moment which was weird because according to Cas angels didn't express feelings.

"There's no way they're expecting him to come alone, Dean," Sam said finally breaking the silence. "You know this is probably a trap."

"Yeah, I know," Dean replied shaking his head. "That's why I have a plan." I moved to get away from the Impala before Dean stopped me. "This involves you staying here while Sam and I take care of this."

"That's not fair and you know it!" I hissed at Dean.

"We don't know what's going on with you, Claire and if you go in there you will get yourself killed and I refuse to have that on my conscience."

Dean turned and stalked off towards the warehouse leaving me standing there. Sam glanced back at me an apologetic look on his face. I let out an aggravated sigh.

"_Let me take over._"

"Screw you," I answered.

"_You're weak. Let me take control. When I'm in command you won't be weak. You can build your strength up._"

"No," I replied and tried to move forward only to drop to my knees in exhaustion.

"_Last chance._" I let out a sigh and nodded my head in acceptance. Just like that I was no longer in control.

Eloa stood up and stalked towards the warehouse not bothering to use the angel transport thing. As she entered the warehouse she noticed a few things. Sam and Dean were in trouble, Jimmy was bleeding, and the little girl wasn't exactly the little girl anymore. She nodded in the girl's direction and she acknowledged my presence before she destroyed the demon in front of her.

Eloa turned to the demon that was grappling with Dean. She felt the feelings Claire had towards this man and felt an obligation to help him. She strode forward before placing her hand on the demons head. The powers of the grace flowed through her hand as the demon was destroyed in an ambiance of white light. She then pulled away as Dean quickly got up. The young child appeared at their side. She glanced over at the child and recognized the grace: Castiel.

"Claire?" Dean asked looking at Eloa for a moment. Dean got his answer when he caught the blank look on her face, before she turned to stare at Sam.

Just as the three stared at Sam, he perked up and turned to look at them. The mouth was covered in blood. He had been drinking her blood from a cut in the demon's neck. Eloa gazed curiously on the situation, but did not let any emotion show. Dean on the other hand had a frightened look on his face at the sight of his brother. Sam turned back around, took Ruby's knife and plunged it into the demon's abdomen.

Sam raised his hand up at the group causing Dean to flinch. Eloa had noticed the approaching demon, but did nothing wanting to see what he would do. Castiel turned slightly to see the demon, while Dean jumped out of the way and turned fully to watch the spectacle. Eloa kept her gaze on Sam through the entire exorcism.

Castiel then moved around the woman who had just fallen and walked back over to where Jimmy lay dying from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Dean quickly rushed down to help the woman while Eloa continued to stare at Sam her face a blank slate. She could tell the Winchester was getting nervous, but just like that she turned and walked over to where Castiel was talking to Jimmy. She was soon joined by the Winchesters and the woman.

"I wanna make sure you understand," the young girl said to Jimmy. "You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you...picture a hundred, a thousand more like it."

"It doesn't matter," Jimmy answered gasping for air. He grabbed the girl's arm, "You take me! Just take me!"

"As you wish," the girl responded. She placed her hand on Jimmy's cheek before a white light erupted as the grace transferred from one vessel to another.

The young girl then started breathing heavy as she fell away from Jimmy, or Castiel. He slowly stood up leaving the girl there on her knees breathing heavy. He walked past the group as the woman ran to her child taking her up in a comforting embrace.

"Cas, hold up!" Dean raised his voice slightly as they turned to the angel walking away. The angel finally turned around. "What were you gonna tell me?"

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean," Castiel responded. "I serve heaven, I don't serve man...and I certainly don't serve you." Castiel turned and walked away leaving a confused Dean. Eloa took this as her cue to give Claire back control of her body.

I sucked in a huge gulp of air, causing Sam and Dean to turn their attention back to me as I struggled to keep myself standing. Dean quickly picked me up bridal style before walking us out to the Impala. He set me in the back seat before he made sure Amelia and her daughter had a ride home. Sam came out wiping his face with a rag.

"What have you done?" I asked him once he was close enough.

"What?"

"I told you not to lose sight of who you are, Sam. Seems you've done the exact opposite of what I asked."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know exactly what it means."

Dean then reappeared and climbed into the car without muttering a word to me or Sam. After we had been driving in the dark for a few hours, Sam couldn't take the silence anymore. I was laying in the backseat still trying to get my strength back up.

"All right, let's hear it," Sam said finally.

"What?" Dean asked glancing at me in the mirror.

"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing."

"I'm not gonna take a swing," Dean replied quietly.

"Then scream, chew me out," Sam begged.

"I'm not mad, Sam."

"Come on. You're not mad?"

"No," Dean answered tiredly.

"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself."

"Don't," Dean and I said at the same time. "I don't care," Dean continued.

"You don't care?" Sam egged him on.

"What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed? Yeah I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man." Dean stared out at the rain covered road in front of us. "I'm done. I am just done."

I slowly sat up and gazed out the window at the dark rain when Sam's phone rang. He answered it and come to find out it was Bobby. He talked for a minute before he hung up.

"What'd he say?" I asked leaning forward.

* * *

"Well, thanks for shaking a tail," Bobby said as we walked through the basement towards the safe room.

"Yeah, you got it," Dean replied in a dead tone. Something didn't feel right about all this. Bobby unlocked the door and moved to the side so Sam would have to go in first.

"Now, go on inside. I wanna show you something," Bobby said pointing to the room.

"All right. So, uh, what's the big demon problem?" Sam asked walking in. I went to follow, but Dean grabbed my arm and held me back.

"You are. This is for your own good," Bobby responded. Dean gently pushed me to the side before he and Bobby both closed the door and locked it leaving Sam inside.

"Guys?" Sam called out, looking through the slot. Bobby then closed the slot leaving Sam in there all alone calling out for us.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked looking between them.

"Claire, come on," Bobby muttered softly.

"No! Not until someone tells me what in the hell is going on!" I yelled causing Dean to look from the door to me. The pained look on his face was enough to shut me up.

I shook my head before pushing past Bobby and up the stairs. I stalked over towards Bobby's desk and shoveled through the papers on his desk looking for anything that would explain this crap. I noticed the glass cup that was sitting on the desk. I grabbed it and threw it at the nearest wall causing it to shatter – the glass and contents falling to the ground.

I let out an aggravated sigh, before I finally noticed Bobby standing there watching me a passive look on his face. I knew there was something he was itching to ask, but he was holding back. I shook my head at Bobby before I walked over to the couch and sat down putting my head in my hands.

I flinched when I heard Sam yelling for Dean. Of course the sound was a little muffled it was still piercing. I closed my eyes and willed for it all to stop. _Eloa, please – do something!_

* * *

It had been a few hours since Dean and Bobby had locked Sam up. The screaming and pleadings were literally nonstop since he had been down there. Dean had come up the stairs a little while ago. He hadn't said anything to me or Bobby; he just stared at the door. After a while Dean had finally made his way from the door and over to where Bobby had poured some whiskey into 3 glasses. He handed on to Dean while he took one leaving the last one sitting on his desk.

"How long is this gonna go on?" Dean asked Bobby as Bobby took a drink of his alcohol.

"Here, let me look it up in my demon-detox manual. Oh wait. No one ever wrote one." Dean let out a deep sigh. "No telling how long it'll take. Hell, or if Sam will even live through it."

Dean gave Bobby a look before turning away from his desk grabbing the extra glass of whiskey before walking over towards me. The phone started ringing as Dean reached me – he held out the glass to me. I stared at the glass before giving Dean the dirtiest look I could before Bobby's phone conversation caught my attention.

"Suck dirt and die, Rufus. You call me again, I'll kill you." Before he hung up.

"What's up with Rufus?" I asked pushing the glass away and walking over to Bobby.

"He knows." The phone started ringing again so Bobby answered. "I'm busy, you son of a bitch. This better be important."

A look of horror crossed Bobby's face before he quickly hung up the phone and walked into another room I had never noticed before. He then sat down at an older-than-dirt computer that looked like it was from the 80s. I watch curiously as the computer booted up and got onto the internet before Bobby started pulling up different articles and printing them off.

I froze when I saw one of the articles. A teacher had gone postal and killed 66 students. That was a seal. I glanced at the other pages Bobby had printed out and my blood froze. They were all seals. Lilith was breaking the last few seals and the angels weren't even trying to stop her. Bobby turned around and glanced at me before he grabbed the papers and walked out to where Dean was still standing dumbfounded.

"The news," Bobby said flipping through the papers before handing them to Dean. "The news ain't good."

"This is what Rufus called about?" Dean asked turning his back to me and Bobby. "Key West sees 10 species go extinct."

"Plus Alaska," Bobby added. "Fifteen-man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown."

"In New York," my voice was shaking, "a teacher loses it, locks the door and kills exactly 66 kids."

"All this in a single day," Bobby confirmed. "I looked them up. There's no doubt about it."

"Lilith is breaking seals and she's breaking them fast," I finished for Bobby causing Dean to turn around to face us.

"How many are left?" Dean asked.

"Who knows? Can't be many," Bobby responded.

"Six," I muttered catching the attention of both men. "There are six left."

"Where in the hell are your angel pals?" Bobby asked.

"You tell me," Dean responded his gaze locking with mine. Dean then broke eye contact and turned away walking towards the kitchen.

"I was just wondering."

"What?"

"The apocalypse being nigh and all…is now really the right time to be having this little domestic drama of ours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't like this anymore than you do…But Sam can kill demons." Bobby said. I shook my head knowing this was gonna open a whole new can of worms. "He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon."

"So what? Sacrifice Sam's life…his soul for the greater good? Is that what you're saying? Times are bad, so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead?"

"I know you hate me for suggesting it. I hate me for suggesting it. But I love that boy like a son. All I'm saying is…is maybe he's here right now…instead of on the battlefield because we love him too much."

Dean didn't say anything, but I could tell that by the look on his face Bobby had hit the spot. Dean shook his head before turning and walking away. Bobby moved to follow him, but I gently put my hand on his arm stopping him, before following after him myself. I had finally caught up to Dean as he reached the edge of the salvage yard.

I went to reach out to touch him but stopped when I saw his shoulders shaking. I flinched again when I heard another one of Sam's screams. It was extremely muffled, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. I walked forward and wrapped my arms around Dean's waist so I remained behind him. I kept the tears from falling from my eyes as I felt Dean shake beneath me.

"Dean-"

"I won't do that to him," Dean whispered. "I won't let the demon blood take him over. It's killing him-"

"Maybe we're the ones killing him," I responded softly as I let go of him. He slowly turned around to face me; his usually beautiful green eyes were bloodshot. Dean didn't say anything he just shook his head. "Dean-"

"I thought you would have understood," he said angrily.

"Why? Because of Alex? Because of the grace?" Dean shook his head as more tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

"This is Sam, Claire. I refuse to have my brother pumped full of demon blood."

"I know, Dean. God, do I know. But we don't have time for this," I responded raising my voice. "Lilith is breaking seals! Sam's stuck down in the safe room, and my time is running out. There are six seals left, Dean, SIX! We don't have time to be sitting around playing _Intervention_ with Sam!"

"What am I suppose to do? Let Sam drink demon blood!" Dean yelled back.

"I don't know, Dean! But this can't keep going on!"

"CAS!" Dean yelled at the sky. He didn't even bother to respond. "CAS!"

"Dean he's not gonna come."

"CASTIEL! YOU SON OF A BITCH, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Dean yelled at the top of his lungs.

I shook my head before I turned around and started back towards the house but I stopped suddenly and turned back to face Dean who was still looking up at the sky screaming angrily for Cas. I walked back up the Winchester and laid my hand gently on his cheek directing his attention back to me. I gently placed my lips on his before pulling away.

"I'm here for you. No matter what. But it doesn't mean I have to agree with you on this."

I pulled away from the emotional man and stalked back towards the house. Once I had reached the house I passed by Bobby who was standing on the porch listening to everything that was going on. I put my hand on the door knob ready to go in when Bobby's voice stopped me.

"This isn't helping anyone."

"This is Dean we're talking about Bobby. When it comes to family, giving in isn't in his vocabulary."

I waked into the house and closed the door behind me. I walked further into the hose before I came to a stop next to a mirror that was hanging in the hallway. I could hear Sam screaming in pure agony just below my feet but all I could do was stare at my reflection.

"_You can get him out of there,"_ Eloa said tilting her head. I stood frozen to my spot as my reflection moved on its own accord.

"I won't go against Dean."

"_Even if it means saving Sam and stopping the apocalypse?"_ I glared fiercely at the reflection and went to move. _"You don't wanna die. I can see it in your soul."_

"Dean means more to me than losing my soul. So leave it alone," I hissed before walking away from the mirror.

* * *

**Thanks for sticking with me everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated, but please leave a review and let me know what you think! THANKS to everyone who has read and left reviews you guys are the greatest!**


	25. Beginning of the End

_**Chapter 25 – Beginning of the End**_

"Correct me if I'm wrong…but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" Bobby asked his arms crossed as he leaned against his desk. "I'm sorry. You prefer 'sucker'?"

"After everything you've said and done to defy the angels. Now you decide to trust them?" I asked taking the words right out of Bobby's mouth.

"Come on, give me a little credit," Dean snapped back "I've never trusted them less. I mean they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

"Well then why in the hell-?"

"Because what other option do I have!" Dean raised his voice. "It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"

"I see your point," Bobby gave in.

"I don't," I muttered causing Dean's gaze to snap in my direction. "Ruby has done nothing wrong!"

"She fed Sam demon blood!"

"Sam wanted it! If he didn't want it he wouldn't be going back for more very time he runs out! You're killing your brother because you have it in for the hell bitch!"

"Knock it off, both of you," Bobby snapped stepping between me and Dean before I could punch the older Winchester. Then just like that everything was quiet.

"You hear that?" Dean suddenly asked looking in the direction of the basement. All three of us listened intently only to hear nothing but silence.

"Yeah, that's a little too much nothing."

All three of us snapped into action as we made our way down to the basement. The whole way there was tense even if it was quick. Once we hit the basement, Dean threw open the small hatch to look inside the panic room. I glanced in and saw Sam on the ground literally convulsing.

"What if he's faking?" Dean asked hesitating to open the door.

"You really think he would?"

"I think he'd do anything."

"You two are despicable!" I hissed reaching for the handle. Just as I did Sam's entire body lifted off the ground and was throwing into one of the walls as he continued to convulse. "He's not faking!" I yelled as Dean pulling open the door.

Dean and Bobby were right behind me as I ran into the room. Sam, still on the wall convulsing, had begun to spin along the wall so he was on the other side of the room by the time we had reached him. Bobby and Dean had grabbed his arms as they struggled to get him down to the ground. I quickly pulled off my belt and stuck it in Sam's mouth for him to bite down.

I ignored Bobby and Dean as Bobby yelled at Dean to do something. I kept my focus on Sam making sure he wasn't gonna hurt himself any further, but something was telling me that no matter what happened Sam was gonna be mentally scarred forever. I then turned to them and yell at them to get Sam up on the bed. Once he was on the bed, Bobby and Dean held Sam down while I wrapped rags around his wrists before using the cuffs to anchor him down to the bed. There was one on each wrist and each ankle.

Once we were sure Sam was tied down we left him alone. At least Bobby and Dean did. They went up the stairs not a moment after Sam had calmed down. I sat down outside the door and just listened to the silence. I could hear Sam's heavy breathing from where I was. It didn't help things when Sam started to talk to himself especially when he believed he was talking to Dean when in all reality Dean was upstairs with Bobby.

I could hear Sam arguing with imaginary Dean and the real Dean was fighting with Bobby. I leaned my head back against the metal of the panic room not sure what to do next. This was killing, Sam but Dean was just too damn stubborn to see it. He would rather let Sam die than let him drink demon blood.

"_You have to let him out."_

"No," I spoke out loud even though the voice was just in my head.

"_He's dying in there and you know it, Claire. Don't let Dean's stupidity kill Sam."_

I just shook my head before standing up and walking back up the stairs. I knew I had been down there for a long time because the sun was starting to set. Bobby and Dean were on separate ends of the room both looking visibly upset. I walked over to the couch and just sat down. Bobby mumbled something about needing to check on something before he left the room leaving me and Dean there.

"You're killing him, you know." I mumbled softly. Dean scoffed in response.

"Not you too. I can't let my brother turn into-"

"A monster?" I asked looking Dean right in the eyes. "That's not Sam."

"It will be if he keeps going like he is. I'll die before I let anything happen to him."

"Then I guess we'll have to help him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I lost both of you."

Dean walked over to me a look in his eyes I couldn't describe but maybe it was gratefulness. Dean sat down on the couch before he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into him. I didn't fight him, instead I turned to look him straight in the eyes. We stared at each other for a moment until I felt his lips press against mine in a sweet, yet heart-wrenching kiss. I pulled slightly away from Dean, but I kept my lips hovering over his.

"I'm with you every step of the way."

Dean suddenly pulled me back to him, the kiss even more searing than the one before. I slowly started feeling Dean pushing me back onto the couch. I quickly complied knowing this probably wasn't gonna last very long.

"Not on my couch," Bobby's voice rang out.

I grinned pulling away from Dean glancing over at Bobby. He shook his head before sitting down at his desk. Dean got up off me but then leaned down so he was laying on the couch, but before I could move he grabbed my arm pulling me down with him. I snuggled up close to him as we crammed together on the small couch.

I wasn't sure how soon we feel asleep but I drifted off at some point only to be woken up. I'm not sure what did it but I felt like someone had just used a lot of raw energy to do something. My eyes snapped open when I thought about Sam. I quickly got up off the couch trying not to disturb Dean. I walked over towards the basement door, but stopped when the door started opening. I quickly flung myself into the closet.

Once I was sure the person had passed I peaked out trying to catch a glimpse of them, but all I saw was the back. That back sure looked a hell of a lot like Sam. I quickly left the closet and followed Sam until we were outside and a good distance away from the house.

"Going somewhere?" I asked startling Sam.

"Claire. Hey, what are you doing up so late?"

"Cut the crap, Sam. How'd you get out?"

"Claire, I don't have time..." I walked over to Sam and grabbed his arm trying to pull him with me but he knocked my hand away.

"Don't make me kick your ass. Come on."

I went to reach for him again, but instead of him pushing me away I received a hard hit to the abdomen. I doubled over in shock and pain, which allowed Sam to hit me again in the jaw and once more in the stomach before I was on the ground bleeding and beaten. I didn't have time to defend myself because this was Sam! I wasn't expecting him to hit me let alone beat me until I was down just so he could disappear.

"I'm sorry." he whispered before walking over to one of the cars picking the lock. I struggled to pick myself up off the ground when I heard the sound of a shotgun cocking.

"Uh-uh, Sam. The only place you're going is back inside with me and Claire."

"No," Sam responded weakly. I finally picked myself up off the ground and stood behind Bobby.

"Damn it, boy," Bobby said taking in Sam's sickly state.

"You won't shoot me, Bobby."

"Don't test me."

"You won't do it," Sam said slowly walking towards Bobby who was cracking under the pressure. Sam finally stopped when the barrel was pressed against his chest. "You can't do it."

"We're trying to help you," I snapped before groaning in pain, dropping to the ground in pain. Sam may look sick but he still packed one hell of a punch. Sam grabbed the barrel putting it so it was over his heart.

"Then shoot," he said staring Bobby straight in the face.

Bobby stood there and I could tell by the look on his face that this was tearing him apart. It was tearing me apart. I groaned causing Bobby to glance back at me and this was when Sam took his shot. He ripped the gun out of Bobby's hands before bashing the handle into Bobby's face knocking him out.

"Sam, no!" I shouted pulling Sam's attention to me. He whispered 'Sorry' once more before the gun connected with my temple knocking me out cold.

* * *

"Come on, Claire," Dean's voice broke through the dark black void I had fallen into.

"Dean?" I asked hoarsely before opening my eyes. A look of relief crossed his face as he helped me sit up. "Sam!"

"He's gone. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I responded before I moved causing me to grunt in pain. "Maybe not."

Dean helped me up off the ground slowly before walking me over to where Bobby was still rubbing his head. Dean carefully helped me back to the house. I couldn't believe I had let Sam go that easily. I should have done something more to make him stay, I mean this was Sam! Not some demon.

"It wasn't your fault," Dean said quietly. He must have seen the look on my face.

"I could have stopped him. I was so blinded by the fact that it was Sam my judgment was clouded."

Dean shook his head not saying anything. I think he knew better than to say anything. It would probably wind up being one huge fight and that was the last thing either of us wanted right now. As soon as Dean and I entered the kitchen Bobby walked in looking just as shaken as me. No one said anything as the three of us walked down towards where Sam had been kept. Dean and Bobby opened the door before walking in. I stayed outside of the panic room and looked around.

"How in the hell did he get out?" Dean asked.

"Maybe he had help," Bobby replied pointing to something on the floor. "Room full of busted devil's traps.

"Demons?" I asked not fully convinced as I stepped into the room.

"Ruby," Dean answered like a light bulb went off.

"That'd be my guess," Bobby replied.

"How'd she even touch the door?" Dean asked. I knelt down on the ground and stared at the traps. I could feel it. The power that had broken the traps, it seemed almost familiar, but I didn't say anything.

"You think she's got the mojo?"

"This doesn't seem like something she'd do." I spoke up answering Bobby's question. I tore my gaze from the broken traps meeting Dean's piercing green gaze. "I mean she may be stupid but she's not suicidal."

Dean knelt down next to me before running his fingers along one of the broken traps. I could tell by the look on his face that he was questioning if it was actually Ruby. His gaze met mine before he stood up saying, "I don't know, man."

"What difference does it make?" Bobby asked. My accusatory glare was shot full force at bobby. "How he got gone ain't as important as where he got gone to."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, I hope he's with Ruby."

"Why?" Bobby and I asked at the same time. I slowly stood up so I was standing next to bobby facing Dean.

"Because killing her is the next big item on my to-do list."

"I thought you were on call for angel duty."

"I am on call," Dean said as he started walking away. He turned back to us slightly as he answered, "In my car, on my way to murder the bitch."

"One thing," Bobby called out causing Dean to stop and ask, "What?"

"Sam don't wanna be found...which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find."

"Yeah, we'll see," Dean responded to the challenge, before turning his back to us and stalking up the stairs.

"It wasn't Ruby," I said quietly to Bobby watching Dean disappear.

"You got any ideas?" Bobby asked looking at me suspiciously.

"I've got a few," I replied before stalking up the stairs after Dean.

As soon as I got to the main floor I immediately headed towards the salvage yard knowing exactly where Dean would be. I knew he had heard me approach but he didn't turn around to face me he just kept working on his car.

"You're only gonna cause more problems if you go after Sam and Ruby pissed off like you are now," I said softly leaning against the car. "I know you care about Sam, Dean, we all do, but you're gonna end up pushing him away."

"What else am I supposed to do? The hell bitch has done enough damage to my brother, I'll be damned if I let her do anymore."

"Police found my car," Bobby's voice broke in. "Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."

"He's switching up," Dean responded wiping the grease off his hands. I straightened up and faced Bobby my arms crossed over my chest. "Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?"

"Two. 1999 Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous, like Sam likes."

"What was the other one?" I asked curiously.

"White '05 Escalade with custom rims," Bobby snorted. "It's a neon sign."

"Sam would never take that," I replied glancing over at Dean who had a intense look on his face.

"Which is exactly what he did," Dean finally said.

"You think?" Bobby asked giving Dean a skeptical look. It didn't sound like a very Sam thing to do, but then again Bobby and I didn't know Sam like Dean did – I mean they are brothers.

"I know that kid. All right, Claire and I'll head in that direction. You stay here, ride the police databases. We gotta find him quick," Dean said closing the hood to the impala. I climbed into the car with Dean before he peeled out of there leaving Bobby behind in the dust.

* * *

Jamestown had been a bust, there was nothing there telling us which way Sam had gone. The car was silent putting me on edge as Dean kept his eyes focused on the road. The silence meant that I had all the time in the world to think to myself and that was the last thing I wanted to be doing.

A phone ringing broke through the quiet atmosphere causing me to jump. Dean grabbed the phone and put it on speaker phone before asking, "What do you have for us, Bobby?"

"_Cops found the Escalade in a ditch outside Elk River_," his voice answered through the speaker.

"How far away are we?"

"_A couple of hours_," he replied. 'I pulled up a weather map...made a few calls. There's a town not far, Cold Spring. Lighting up with demon signs."

"A good place to look," Dean replied a stony look on his face.

"_Hey, listen_," Bobby stopped Dean from hanging up.

"What?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"_Us finding Sam? It's gotta be about getting him back, not pushing him away._"

I gave Dean the look that said 'I-told-you-so' causing him to roll his eyes. I knew Dean was struggling with this, but we all were and if Dean went off to find Sam alone it would end up being a bigger mess than it already was. I at least wanted to make sure the guys would be okay after I'm gone.

"_I know you're mad, Dean. I understand. You got a right to be...but, I'm just saying_." Bobby fell silent for a moment. "_Be good to him. You gotta try to get through to him_."

Dean didn't say anything in response. "Thanks, Bobby, keep us posted if you hear anything," I spoke up instead before ending the call. Dean was silent but I could tell he was pissed. Everyone was telling him to be calm with Sam but that just wasn't Dean's style and I think we were pushing him to the edge.

It took a few more hours of silence and darkness before we finally reached Cold Spring. Something about this town just didn't feel right, but I didn't dwell on the fact as Dean pulled up to the nicest looking hotel in the town.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"This is the last place Sam would expect us to look, so we'll start here."

"Dean-!" I called getting out of the car after him.

"Just stay out here. If Sam's here and he tries getting away stop him."

I stood there next to the impala as Dean stalked into the hotel. This wasn't going to end well and I was helpless to stop it. I leaned against the car and crossed my arms over my chest. I knew I should have gone in the after Dean, but if Sam was in there the two needed to sort this out without me being there to negotiate it.

I looked up from the ground just in time to see Ruby exiting the hotel through the alley. I quickly left the car and stalked towards her not saying anything just following her.

"How long are you gonna follow me?" Ruby asked before turning around to face me.

"Until I find out what in the hell is going on," I retorted.

"I'm doing Sam a favor and you know it."

"I've trusted you this far Ruby, but now you're pushing it. Sam almost got himself killed! What have you done to him?" I growled at her stalking forward a few steps.

"I've made him stronger," Ruby replied before turning to walk away.

"You're destroying him!" I yelled. Before I had time to react Ruby had me up against the wall her hand on my neck.

"What do you think you did to him when you left him?" Ruby yelled.

I brought my arm down on top of hers breaking her hold on me. I pushed her away from me in which she retaliated by throwing a punch. I blocked it quickly before throwing my own punch which connected with her jaw. She stumbled back a few feet before charging me again.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as we danced around each other in a circle.

"No matter what I do, no matter how hard I push him he always does what's best for you and Dean. Don't you see that he's still madly in love with you?"

"Go to hell," I growled before throwing another punch. I could feel the anger growing inside of me as I tried knocking Ruby down a few pegs.

Instead she got in a few punches which landed me on my back on the ground blood dripping from my nose and from a cut on my temple. I was about to get up when a searing pain ripped through me causing me to become immobilized. I let out a groan of pain to keep from yelling out. I was breathing heavily as Ruby walked over to me standing above me looking down a smirk on her face as she knelt down.

"You know exactly what just happened," Ruby said softly. Another seal had been broken. "Lilith will break the last seal. Sam will kill Lilith and she will kill you. Its the natural order. You really thought you all could stop it?"

"The next one is-"

"Seal 66. And you've got front row seats," Ruby replied before standing back up. "Room 34 is the one Sam and I were in. But I wouldn't count on him still being there."

I watched as Ruby began walking away before she just disappearing. I groaned in pain before standing up the blood still dripping down my face. I wiped away the blood from my nose and stared down at it for a moment before looking back up at the hotel.

I quickly took off in a run up to the room Ruby said Sam would be in. I burst into the room and saw that it had been devastated. Almost like a tornado had gone through the room – a tornado with the last names Winchester. I quickly walked into the room not seeing Sam until my eyes landed on the sight of Dean laying on the floor beaten.

"Dean!" I shouted as I quickly made my way over to him falling to the ground next to him. "Where Sam?"

"He's gone," Dean replied a glazed look in his eyes. "He's not coming back."

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I helped him up. "He'll come back," I whispered. "He always does."

* * *

**I AM SO SORRY! I apologize for leaving you guys for soooo long its just life has been crazy! But thank you to everyone who has stuck by and is reading thiss now you guys are amazing! Please leave a review cause they make my day :D**


	26. Lucifer Rising

_**Chapter 26 – Lucifer Rising**_

I shook my head as I paced in Bobby's living room. None of this was right. Sam had gone off the grid again taking Ruby with him. We were down to the last seal, I could feel it in my bones and that's what scared me. I glanced over at Dean who was standing there a stoic look on his face as he gazed out the window. Bobby had been talking for the past few minutes.

"Dean?" I asked gently touching his arm after Bobby had called his name a few times.

"You listen to a word I said?" Bobby asked in an annoyed manner.

"Yeah, I heard you," Dean said roughly sounding like he was tired. "I'm not calling him."  
I sighed softly rubbing his arm gently causing him to glance at me.

"Don't make me get my gun boy," Bobby threatened.

"We are damn near kickoff for Armageddon," Dean snapped turning to look at Bobby. I stayed there at the window as Dean slowly walked towards Bobby. "Don't you think we've got bigger fish at the moment?"

"I know you're pissed and I'm not making apologies for what he's done, but he's your-"

"Blood?" Dean asked cutting him off. "He's my blood? Is that what you're gonna say?"

"He's your brother, Dean," I cut into the conversation. "And he's drowning."

"Claire, I tried to help him. I did. Look what happened."

"So try again," Bobby snapped at Dean. It was easy to tell that Bobby was getting fed up with all of Dean and Sam's bullshit.

"No it's too late."

"There's no such thing," Bobby retorted. I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched Bobby and Dean talk. I was pleasantly surprised when Eloa kept silent throughout the whole conversation.

"No, damn it! No. We gotta face the facts," Dean said fed up. "Sam never wanted any part of this family. He hated this life growing up. Ran away to Stanford the first chance he got. Now it's like déjàvu all over again. Well I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him. He can do what he wants."

"You don't mean that," Bobby told him.

"Yes, I do, Bobby. Sam's gone. He's gone," Dean said more like he was trying to convince himself more than me and Bobby. "I'm not even sure if he's still my brother anymore. If he ever was."

I stood there and watched Dean. He looked so broken and it took all of my willpower not to go over there and comfort him. I kept my spot next to the window, arms crossed over my chest. None of this was fair and I wish Sam could just see what he did to his brother. I wished both of them could see the affect they had on each other.

I jumped in surprise when Bobby angrily pushed everything off his desk and onto the floor before turning to face Dean. Bobby was downright pissed and it was easy to tell because not only was he yelling at Dean, but because he had just pushed all of their work off the desk and into a heaping pile on the floor.

"You stupid, stupid son of a bitch!" Bobby yelled at Dean. "Well, boohoo, I am so sorry your feelings are hurt, princess," Bobby spat. "Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good? Bake you an apple pie maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!"

I stared wide-eyed at the confrontation. Dean and Bobby were standing toe-to-toe with one another and that was never a good thing especially when both are hunters and both are stubborn as hell. I wondered if I should step in, but thought better of it; this was one fight that I didn't need to be involved in.

"I told him, 'you walk out that door don't come back.' And he walked out anyway," Dean retorted. "That was his choice."

"You sound like a whiny brat!" Bobby snapped. "No. You sound like your dad. Well let me tell you something. Your dad was a coward."

Dean had walked away after a moment towards me but came to a stop when Bobby said that. I stared at Bobby gaping like a fish. He brought John into and now all hell was gonna break loose. I went to grab Dean's arm, but he stepped out of my reach and faced Bobby.

"My dad was a lot of things, Bobby, but a coward?" Dean asked calmly.

"He'd rather push Sam away than reach out to him," Bobby told Dean. "Well that don't strike me as brave."

I thought about what Bobby had said. John did push Sam away, just like my father pushed me away. It all made sense. That's why Bobby and my dad would always fight. John was trying to keep my father from making the same mistakes he did with his own sons.

"You are a better man than your daddy ever was," Bobby told Dean. Dean scoffed. "So you do all of us a favor. Don't be him."

Dean nodded before turning around and facing the window. I blinked once and when my eyes opened Dean was gone. I looked over at Bobby who was just as taken back as I was. I looked around for Dean as did Bobby.

"Dean!" I called out.

"Damn it!" Bobby hissed.

"_The angels,"_ Eloa whispered. I growled throwing a book. I looked up at Bobby and froze when I heard actual growling coming from just outside the window.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bobby asked freezing at the sound as well. I turned slowly around and saw the ugly hellhound staring at me with its blood red eyes. I turned to Bobby.

"Bobby, RUN!" I yelled taking off in a sprint. Thankfully Bobby did as well just in time to hear the glass of the window shattering as the hound jumped through the window.

I glanced behind me when I heard the snarling. The black dog was big, bigger than I remembered. Bobby and I shot down the stairs to the panic room. If it kept out demons then it would keep out hell hounds. Bobby was the first one into the room and as I jumped in he slammed the door shut. I heard the whining of the hell hound as he hit the iron door.

I collapsed in exhaustion as did Bobby. Both of us were breathing heavily as we listened to the hell hound scratch at the iron door. I closed my eyes and laid back against the floor. This was it. The hell hound was here for me, Lilith sent it after _me_.

"It's going down isn't it?" Bobby asked.

"The angels...the hell hound...She's ready to break the final seal and she needs me to do it."

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"I have no clue," I told him breathing heavily.

After that the two of us sat there calling our respective Winchesters neither of us getting much success.

"Dean's not answering his phone," Bobby sighed hanging up his phone again. It was the fifth call he had placed to Dean.

"Sam's not answering either," I told him before hanging up my phone. "I can't hide in here forever..."

"I don't wanna hear it," Bobby snapped pointing at me. "You are not giving yourself over to Lilith."

"What choice do I have Bobby?" I yelled at him. "I go or the deal is off and I get the grace ripped out of me! I was dying before I connected the pieces! It's either me or the Winchesters and I choose me!"

"So you're just gonna go kill yourself?" Bobby asked. "That's not the way to do this!"

"It's the only way, Bobby!" I snapped silencing the older man. "I'm tired. I'm done, I'm just done. I'm not running from this anymore."

Bobby didn't say anything. He was the only thing standing between me and the door. I gently pushed past him and put my fingers against the cool iron; I could hear the hound breathing on the other side. I turned my head to look at Bobby.

"Tell Dean I love him," I whispered. I got a teary nod from Bobby before I sent a reassuring smile his way. "Everything will be okay."

I pulled open the door and faced the hell hound. I closed my eyes feeling its hot breath on my face. After a moment I opened my eyes and stepped out expecting everything that was coming. I felt the hound's teeth pierce my skin and I let out a yell of agony as it yanked me to the ground and dragged me across the floor. I let the pain engulf me before I blacked out.

* * *

I gasped in surprise when I felt a cool breeze against my legs. I opened my eyes and looked around, my vision slightly blurry before it cleared up. I glanced down and noticed I could move. My arms and legs were tied down and I was in the middle of an altar. There were a few candles lit around me and there were some empty bowls on the ground below me. That's when I felt the breeze again...I was in a dress. A freaking dress – a white freaking dress. I struggled against the ropes.

"It's no use. You're not going anywhere," a sickly sweet voice said from the shadows.

"Lilith," I hissed. "You broke the deal! You said after the seal breaks!"

"No I said when the final seal breaks." Lilith smirked. "Don't you get it Claire? We're the final seal."

I stared at Lilith wide-eyed. No that wasn't possible. I understood Lilith being the final seal, but me? I shook my head not believing it. It started to make sense. I was the nephilim who was supposed to end it all...

"Show time," Lilith smirked. I struggled against the ropes holding me down. They were digging into my skin, but that wasn't the worst part.

Lilith had started chanting something in Latin. Not only did it sound evil, but I could just feel the evil radiating from the words and the air around me. I heard a commotion outside, but that immediately left my mind when a stinging was felt in my wrist. My gaze snapped down to my wrist which was where Lilith was standing with a bloody knife. The blood had come from the large gash that was now on my wrist. The blood dripped down the side of my wrist before falling into the bowl on the floor. She then moved to the other wrist and cut that one.

Lilith knelt down next to the blood dipping the tip of her knife into swirling the blood around in it. While she did this she was muttering, "So pure."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped feeling myself grow weaker by the second.

"The blood of the pure and impure shall come together to form the key to unlock the gateway to Lucifer's hell," Lilith smirked before she stood up hovering over me.

She parted her lips as though she was going to say something, but a man interrupted holding an ornate goblet in front of him. Lilith nodded to him before smiling at me and leaving the room. The man began collecting the bowls of blood he started pouring them into the one large goblet. The blood that was still seeping from my cuts was dripping helplessly to the ground. I opened my mouth to say something but found myself to weak. I was _bleeding_ to death.

_Eloa. Please._ I felt myself thinking, but it did no good. The angel was completely silent. I kept up my silent pleading as the world began getting blurrier and blurrier. I felt my body suddenly lurch forward before my stomach connected with someone's shoulder. I watched hazily as the demon carried the goblet with my blood in it; he held it as if it were some holy thing. I realized another demon had picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder.

I laid there limply as they took me through a corridor lined with more demons. At the end was a smaller room where Lilith stood at yet another alter, but this time she was wearing a similar white dress. As we came closer and closer, the weaker I became my blood leaving splash marks as it hit the ground below. It wasn't long before I felt my body being propped up against the alter Lilith had set up. The demon carrying my blood handed the goblet to Lilith a fearful look on his face.

"Don't be afraid," she told him in a sickly sweet voice as she took the goblet. "We're going to save the world."

I scoffed laying my head back against the stone. "What exactly are you trying to save?" I asked weakly.

"It'll be hell on Earth. Just like we've been waiting for," Lilith smiled to me as she turned and placed the blood on the altar, but that's not what caught my attention. Through the haze I watched as the bodies of all the demon came crashing to the ground simultaneously.

I watched in horror as Sam and Ruby slowly rounded the corner. No! No, no, no, no, no! They were supposed to stay as far away from this as possible. I opened my mouth to yell at Sam, but I couldn't muster up the energy. I let my head drop as I gazed at the wounds on my wrists – they were still bleeding. I brought my head back up and watched as the door slammed close blocking Ruby and Sam from my view.

The doors burst open and Sam strode through his hand up in the air. Lilith was sent flying back before she hit her head on the stone altar landing next to me. As she hit the ground I watched as the goblet holding my precious blood in it came crashing to the ground in front of me. I then brought my gaze up to meet Sam's and I watched as pure anger flitted through his features before he turned his wrath upon Lilith. Ruby turned and closed the doors to the room as though to block us in.

"I've been waiting for this for a very long time," Sam spoke finally staring at Lilith.

"Then give me your best shot," Lilith retorted gritting her teeth.

At this point I was beginning to see black spots in my vision. I was really gonna die. I gazed up at Ruby and noticed the smirk on her face. An evil smirk that could only be categorized as an 'I won' kind of smirk.

"Sam," I whispered finally finding my voice. At the same time Dean's voice could be heard echoing from the door as someone beat relentlessly against it. Distantly I could hear Ruby screaming at Sam and Lilith laughing. It was all starting to blend together until the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. It was like the world had been but on silent and it was just me.

Everything was on slow motion. I watched as Sam raise his hand. Then Lilith fall to the ground. I watched as her blood and my blood began to intertwine and create a sort of circle. The spots in my vision grew larger and larger until I saw one last thing. I saw a golden light approaching me, when it was close enough a figure appeared. Standing in front of me was…me. I was holding my hand out like I was supposed to take it. I reached my hand out to the light; the sight of my blood dripping down my wrist was the last thing I saw before I was engulfed in pure light.

Dean beat relentlessly against the door with the stand in his hands before it finally burst open. He stared angrily at the sight before him, Sam on the ground and Ruby hovering over him. Ruby turned to look at him a triumphant smirk on her face. Dean quickly whipped out Ruby's knife as he advanced toward her. She stood up and faced Dean.

"You're too late," she said defiantly.

"I don't care," Dean growled advancing on her.

As Dean approached, Sam quickly got to his feet and grabbed a hold of Ruby's arms pinning her as Dean shoved the knife right into the demon's abdomen with anger on his face. A look of shock came over Ruby's face as this happened groaning as Dean twisted the knife and ended her existence. As the light left her eyes Sam let go of the corpse letting her fall to the ground.

With knife still in hand he searched the room wildly before his eyes landed on the slump form of Claire who was leaning weakly against the stone alter. He quickly put the knife in his pocket before rushing over to Claire, Sam right behind him. Dean fell to his knees next to the girl as did Sam, both startled by the blank look on her face and the blood that had flowed from her wrists.

Dean with tears in his eyes rested his hand against her cheek as he stared into her cold, blank eyes. He looked over at Sam who looked ready to kill himself with grief. Dean pulled the cold body of Claire to him as the first tears escaped his eyes.

"No," he whispered. "Come on Claire. Please."

"I'm so sorry," Sam responded his hand resting on Claire's limp arm. Sam reached up and gently closed her eyes before checking for a pulse praying there might be one. When he was met with nothing but cold skin he recoiled in shame.

The serenity of the moment was broken as a loud whirling noise broke through the atmosphere. Dean glanced behind him to see the circle in the blood had begun to open a stream of light pouring from it. He quickly picked up Claire's limp body and stood up with Sam.

"Sammy let's go!"

"Dean…" Sam replied fearfully grabbing onto Dean's jacket. Dean gazed wide eyed at his brother as he held onto Claire tightly. Sam's gaze was fixed on the opening before he finally said the two words Dean prayed he would never have to hear.

"_He's here_."

* * *

**Wow, it really has been a while hasn't it? I'm going to be completely honest I had lost my mojo writing this story. I lost all my spark, but I'm back! It's been a tough few months but I'm not hoping to get into the swing of things! For all of you who are still reading this...wow you deserve an award for being awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me through this! Be looking forward to the next installment. It will be coming very soon! Please leave me a review I would greatly appreciate it after all this time! Haha! Again thank you so much!**


	27. Update

**Hello Everyone!**

**I know this is against the rules but i really wanted to let you know the first chapter to the next story is almost finished!**

**Yes and I also wanted to let you know...**

**Those of you who still read this...**

**that I have created a banner for the story. **

**Please refer to my homepage for the URL I would love to hear your opinion on it! **

**Thank you to all those who are reading this now you guys are amazing and the next story will be out very very very very soon I promise!**


End file.
